A Duke In Distress
by Thre3
Summary: Beckett is hiding something from everyone. Castle goes missing as a result. I am bad at summaries - Caskett eventually. AU sort of- Set end of S3-ish, totally ignores the shooting. Chapter 17 is semi Season 5-ish, but I'm getting there...I hope. Chapter 18 posted - Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own Castle.

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_Fear. A stressful emotion aroused by impending danger. _

"Everything I did, was for you," he said as he took a step closer to her. Dark shadows cast across his face, making him appear scary instead of caring and concerned, "I did it for us,"

"What have you become?" Beckett yelled back at him as she stepped further away from him. He raised his hand to her, "Don't touch me," she said with warning evident in her tone.

"I love you," he stated as he tried to step closer once more.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked him. It was like he was an entirely new person, definitely not the man she was in love with. She pulled her gun out and held it in front of her body as protection, but he didn't flinch. She fiddled with her gun and almost lost grip. There were no bullets left. She dropped it and ran at him with force, swinging with her right fist and instantly causing him to fall to the floor. She gave her fist a quick shake before running in the opposite direction. Tears streaming freely down her face.

When she thought she was far enough from him, she stopped at reached in her pocket for her cell phone, when suddenly a hand grasped her throat and another hand covered her screams.

_Distress. Anxiety or sorrow caused by physical or mental suffering. _

She struggled against the strong grip he had on her. She had never felt like this before. Like there was nothing she could do. She needed help, but…what if the person she needed help from was the person she was trying to save?

She managed to stop panicking long enough so that she could subdue her assailant in some way. She elbowed him in the ribs. He groaned and unconsciously loosened his grip on her.

"Castle," she said quietly under her breath. He started to come towards her, she pushed him away. He fell to the floor. She staggered backward fumbling for her cell. She kept fumbling, without noticing his arm reaching from the floor across to her leg. With on swift yank, he pulled her down to the floor. She yelped as he head hit the floor, knocking her out cold.

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Beckett awoke from lying across her arm at her desk. She was welcomed by the heavenly smell of fresh coffee at 9 o'clock in the morning. She raised her head to meet Ryan and Esposito's concerned eyes.

"We let ourselves in," Espo spoke up. Espo, Lanie and Ryan had _all_ come to Beckett's place. She ignored the comment and walked to her personal _murder board_, grabbing the disposable coffee cup as she went. She stood back and stared at the faux _murder board_ she had created in her own home. Ryan noticed Beckett's jaw physically and noticeably clench. She rubbed her eyes out of fatigue.

"You need to get sleep. I know you've been up all night racking your brains about this. Did you learn _nothing_ from what your mother's case did to you?" Lanie said as she placed a comforting hand on Beckett's back.

_Love. Profound affection towards another person. _

"He's not dead," she said sternly and confidently, "Castle is missing. He's not dead Lanie. I know he's not,"

"I wasn't saying that," Lanie said gently. Ryan and Espo silently caught Lanie's attention and signalled they were leaving. She nodded before turning back to Beckett and examining her tired face. She swallowed before speaking, "Leave it to the police,"

"I _am_ the police. I can't just sit here," she half yelled. Lanie nodded sadly in understanding, "It's been four days," Beckett's voice broke, "They're not doing their job if they haven't found him after _four days_,"

"You had the nightmare again, didn't you?" Lanie asked gently yet suddenly somewhat out of the blue, "Did he attack you again?"

Beckett nodded, "But it was different," she stated quietly, "I was closer…to saving Castle," she looked down to her feet, "I was getting my cell and I was going to…call him. For help," she choked the last few words out.

Lanie looked back at Beckett's made up _murder board_ for Castle. She noticed Beckett staring longingly at the picture of Castle's bright face, "Stop calling it a nightmare. Its fine, I'm fine. Fear is only in the mind Lanie,"

"_Clearly_. Look, you know he was only trying to protect you," Lanie said. Beckett looked at her. He wasn't trying to protect her; it was much more than that. But she couldn't tell Lanie that, she couldn't tell anyone. She knew that she had to, eventually.

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**A/N: **I'm not sure what genre this story really is, but I have been told that it has some angst. If you don't think so then can you please let me know? (Granted, the person who told me the genre knows the whole plot line)


	2. Chapter 2

**SezzaLuvBones**: I am writing this story, _because I can_…

**Disclaimer:** I Do Not Own Castle

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_**Nine Days Earlier. Five days before Castle went missing. Monday 20**__**th**__** May. **_

Beckett walked to her desk to find Castle sitting down playing with a Rubik's cube. She sat down and threw her paperwork to the desk, giving a loud exasperated sigh. It had been a hard case for them to solve. It was a Monday night and she really didn't need Castle's childish act right now.

"Is that Rubik's cube?" she asked him with a frown. Castle looked up to her with wide eyes.

"You don't like it," he asked with a raised brow, "It's gone," he said as he threw it over his shoulder. He winced as he heard it clatter on the floor, loudly. Beckett rolled her eyes. "Come out for drinks with me?" he asked her.

"Um…I can't. I was going to go out for dinner with Josh," she replied with a tight lipped smile.

"Was?" Castle repeated with a cocked eyebrow.

"Will," she quickly corrected, "Am," she said as her phone began to ring, revealing Josh's caller ID. She stood up and walked away, so she could answer it. Castle watched her hand gestures carefully, trying to figure what they were talking about. She began waving her free hand vigorously through the air in anger. Castle smirked and raised his eyebrows. "No forget it," Castle heard small snippets of the conversation from a distance, "Well then _I'm_ cancelling on _you_. I have other plans tonight," she put her hand on her hip and hung the phone up aggressively, grunting before she turned and walked back to Castle.

"Everything ok?" he asked kindly, even though he had gotten the gist of her situation. He bit back a smile as he tried not show joy at the fact that she was in a fight with Dr. Motorcycle Boy.

Does that offer still stand?" she almost snapped back. Castle stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape. He had only just occurred to him that she cancelled her dinner, telling Josh she had other plans and her other plans involved him? He quickly snapped back to reality, but continued staring at Beckett's questioning gaze, "The drinks?" her tone softened slightly.

"Y-Yeah. Um sure, let me just…yeah," he brushed his hand through his hair and stood up. Beckett narrowed her eyes in confusion, ducking her head slightly. Castle extended his arm, indicating for Beckett to walk in front of him.

"Thanks," she laughed and walked ahead. They left the Precinct and Beckett turned to Castle with another questing gaze, "The Old Haunt?" she asked slowly.

"Where else?" he smiled at her as they continued on their eight minute route to the bar.

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Castle was trying to keep the topic of conversation light but they eventually fell into awkward silence, until he remembered something.

"Hey, I was thinking of throwing a party," he blurted.

"What's the occasion?" Beckett asked as she took a sip of her cocktail.

"No occasion," he said casually.

"Then why?" she frowned at him.

"There was a legitimate reason as to why I was throwing a party at my place. But I'd been planning this for so long, I don't remember," he shrugged, "So now, it's just because I can," he said happily. Beckett figured it was because he was tipsy, "At the time when I was planning it, I couldn't contact you to ask you how many people you wanted to come with you,"

"With me?" she countered.

"Yeah. So I asked Lanie and she said it probably just be you and Dr Motorcycle Boy…By that I mean _Josh_," he said as he took another sip of his scotch. Beckett cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah we'll be there._ He_ might not be there for very long, but I'll make sure he makes an appearance," she smirked. "Thanks Castle," she said with a genuine smile of gratitude, "When is it?"

"The 22nd," he said as he got a refill. He was slowly getting himself drunk, unintentionally.

"Castle," Beckett said with surprise. He stared at her with a blank expression, "That's in two days. Could you give me shorter notice?" she furrowed her brow.

"Sorry, I forgot about it until now," he pouted, "I'm sorry. If you can't come then-"

"No I said we'll be there and we will. Don't worry about it. It might only just be _me_ though," she replied.

"That's okay. I know that everyone will have work the next day, so there will be absolutely _no_ _alcohol,_" he said with a face of determination.

"Yeah I really believe _that_ Castle," she snorted and shook her head. She looked down at her watch, "I should go," she said sadly. Castle nodded and they both prepared to leave.

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A/N: Thank you for all the Favourites (Favorites), Alerts & Reviews on the First Chapter. I'm not sure about the time frame for this (in relation to the actual show) I'm still only on S3. Sorry if something's wrong with anything. This chapter is kind of slow (in my opinion) it will get better later in the story (Also in my opinion). R&R Thanks Xx


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Do not Own Castle.

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_**21**__**st**__** May**_

Beckett walked into the Precinct on that Tuesday morning expecting to see Castle, but instead was greeted by an empty chair. She dialled his number and he picked up with a groan.

"Let me guess. You went back to the bar last night," she stated confidently.

"Went back? Or _never left_? I made sure you were okay to leave and then I stayed," he said through a yawn.

"Well you have to come in anyway," she replied as she sat down at her desk.

"But I'm-"

"Going to be here in twenty? Great," she hung up the phone.

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"Morning," Castle said groggily.

"I'm afraid it's no longer morning Castle," Beckett looked at her watch and pursed her lips.

"What?" he said as he rubbed his temple. She laughed and stood up.

"I talked to Josh and we'll both be there tomorrow," she said as she started walking. He stood in the same spot and continued rubbing his temple.

"Yeah tomorrow," it took him a while to register what Beckett had just said, "Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?" he said as he ran after her. He caught up to her and she handed him an aspirin, "Thanks,"

"Your party? You invited me and Josh last night," she said as she gave him some water and walked away.

"Josh too?" he asked himself, "I must have _already_ been drunk," he scoffed.

"I heard that," Beckett called back.

"Yeah I know," he yelled to her.

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_**22**__**nd**__** May **_

It was 7 o'clock when Castle guest began arriving for his impromptu party he was throwing for no reason.

"Hey Castle," he was greeted as he opened the door to reveal Ryan and Jenny. Alexis appeared behind him and took their coats.

"Thanks for coming. Non-Alcoholic beverages are over there," he pointed at the table his mother was standing at. He walked them around and they started talking until they heard someone else at the door. Alexis moved to answer it.

"Hey Dr. Parish," she said as Lanie came in with Esposito. Castle was almost surprised to see them come in together. By the time, they actually got inside, Alexis was on her way to answer the door again. Slowly, more and more guests began to trickle in. An hour later, Castle's long awaited guest finally arrived, with her boyfriend.

"Sorry we're late," she said as Castle took their coats and offered them hors d'oeuvres. Beckett nudged Josh until he cleared his throat and apologised too.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked them both.

"Vodka," Josh said under his breath. He was making it extremely clear to Castle that he really didn't want to be there.

"Sorry no alcohol," Castle gave him a cheeky smile.

"He knows, he's just kidding," Beckett gave Josh a certain look and he shrugged his shoulders. Castle smirked; it was going to be a long night.

"It'll be fine, we're having dinner in about half an hour," Castle said before walking away and leaving them alone.

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It was 9.43pm when Castle noticed Beckett standing by herself and picking at some food. He walked towards her with a glass of punch.

"Still hungry?" he asked as he handed her the glass.

"Hm? No. Thanks," she said as she said as she took the ice cold glass in her hand and sighed.

"Did Josh leave?" he asked as he looked around the room for the Doctor.

"No, I wouldn't let him leave without saying bye. He went to the bathroom," she put the glass down on the table and grabbed a napkin, so she could dry her wet, cold hands.

"I'll bet he did," Castle said with a smug look. Before Castle could continue his conversation, Josh came in and interrupted them, saying he needed to be alone with Kate. Castle moved away towards Espo and Ryan, who were laughing heartily about something.

"Yo Castle," Esposito beckoned him over with one hand. Castle tore his eyes away from Beckett and joined the pair.

"Hey. Where's Jenny?" he asked Ryan when he noticed the pair weren't glued to one another.

"I think she's with Martha," he said as he eyes slowly scanned the room. Castle nodded and moved to the other side of Ryan, so he had a clear view of Beckett without having to turn around.

"So, Castle, get this…" Esposito began to explain what was so funny, but Castle wasn't listening.

He was too busy observing Beckett, whilst trying not to eavesdrop on what she was actually saying. It was evident in her facial expression that they were having an argument, very quietly. He felt sorry for her, she looked flustered and angry. Though she was clearly angry, she almost looked like she wanted to cry. Castle knew that if Beckett looked like she wanted to cry, something must have _really_ upset her. Beckett turned her face away from Josh as he began speaking, she slowly nodded in understanding. He looked as though he wanted to continue talking but she wasn't interested in hearing what he had to say.

"Right?" Castle heard Esposito finish his long winded story as everyone erupted in loud laughter. He started laughing too and slapped Esposito on the shoulder, making it appear as though he was paying attention the entire time. When he looked over at Beckett again, she was standing alone and downing her punch as fast as she could. He began over to her, when he was suddenly interrupted by his _favourite_ guest.

"Hey, I have to go," Josh said quickly and abruptly, "Work early in the morning,"

"Duty calls," Castle laughed, "Thanks for coming," he said as he saw Beckett walking towards them, "Are you leaving with him?" he asked as politely as he could.

"No I'm catching a cab. I'm just walking him out," she said and gave a tight smile. Castle watched them leave for the door. She stood by the door and took a deep breath that was audible to anyone within a 3 mile radius. Castle continued to look at the pair, expecting some form of good night kiss. Instead they hugged it out and he was on his way. Castle couldn't help but smile, he felt bad about it, but the smile continued to tug at his lips.

The smile vanished when Beckett started to walk towards him. He was approached first by Ryan and Jenny.

"Hey Castle. Sorry we got to go," he said, gently placing his hand on Castle's shoulder.

"Sorry, it's my fault," Jenny piped up.

"No it isn't, stop blaming yourself. We just have some things to deal with at home," Ryan said apologetically.

"Say no more. Its fine," Castle replied with a smile. By that time Beckett was standing with the group, "Thanks for coming. Stop apologising," he laughed. As he walked Ryan and Jenny out, he was continuously approached by more guests, saying that they needed to leave. He was confused as to why everyone was leaving so quickly, until he looked at the time.

_**11.22pm**_

Soon everyone was gone until it was just him, Beckett, Esposito, Lanie, Martha and Alexis. He was standing with Beckett, who still appeared to have a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. They walked together towards Lanie and Esposito, making light conversation along the way.

"I had a great time Castle," she said softly, "I needed a break," she said as she fanned her face.

"I'm glad I could be of assistance," he said when they were around a meter away from Espo and Lanie. Lanie noticed they were walking towards them.

"We should go," she said suddenly to an unsuspecting Esposito.

"What? Why?" he said torpidly. Lanie swatted him on the chest and brought his attention to Castle and Beckett. He looked at the way they were talking to each other and immediately understood what Lanie was getting at, "Yo Castle! Awesome party," he said as he shook Castle's hand aggressively.

"Hey Girl, we're heading off too," she said to Beckett. Beckett looked at her in surprise as to why Lanie was treating Beckett as host instead of Castle. She took a side step, indicating to Lanie that she should tell Castle that she leaving. Lanie obliged and they were both soon on their way. Castle shrugged and turned his attention to Martha and Alexis, who were both cleaning up in the kitchen.

"Hey you look like you could use some help with that," Beckett interrupted the conversation.

"No, we're fine," Alexis said politely. Martha observed Castle and Beckett's interaction.

"You two should go out for coffee," she said suggestively. Beckett was taken aback and Castle made a face.

"Coffee?" he whined.

"No, you're right. You _can_ help us. You two can do all of this," she gestured to the cleaning up and chores before grabbing Alexis' arm, "_We'll_ go out for coffee,"

"Mother," Castle said sternly, but in surprise at the same time. Alexis was being tugged at aggressively as they made their way to the door.

"Bye. Thanks for the help," Martha called out as she closed the door. Castle's jaw dropped and he looked at Beckett apologetically, who was laughing and shaking her head.

"I am _so_ sorry," Castle said as he looked at the chores they were left to do, "You can leave if you want," he frowned at the mess.

"That's ok, I was planning on staying anyway," she rolled her sleeves up in preparation.

"You were?" he asked with confusion

"Sure," she said with a small nod.

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**A/N: **Sorry for the long chapter. I hope its ok and I hope the story is getting better. R&R Thanks Xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I disown Castle.

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_**Early Hours of 24**__**th**__** May**_

Beckett didn't stay very long, because she, like everyone else, had work the next morning. She helped Castle clean up and they made small talk. They loaded the dishwasher and threw all of the leftover food out.

"I don't know why my mother would suggest going to get coffee at this hour," he laughed as she tied an overflowing garbage bag up.

"Yeah I think I know why," Beckett muttered with a small chuckle.

"What?" he asked with confusion.

"Oh come on Castle," she looked at him sceptically, "I mean she practically dragged Alexis out of here. Is it a coincidence that after Josh leaves, everyone else does?" After she mentioned Josh, Beckett looked down and continued with her trash bags.

"You want to talk about it?" Castle said suddenly off topic. Beckett looked at him as though it wasn't a big deal.

"It's nothing really, I just feel like we're drifting apart you know?" she shrugged one shoulder and continued collecting her garbage.

"Does he feel the same way?" Castle asked. He too continued collecting most of the garbage but he couldn't take his eyes off Beckett. She paused for a moment to think about the question and the answer.

"I'd be surprised if he didn't," she said before she started moving again, "I feel bad though. I feel like I can't commit myself fully to this relationship. I'm not in it for the long run,"

"Oh?" Castle straightened his stance. Beckett realised what she had just said and how it sounded, she immediately tried to change the subject. She bent further down to grab some more garbage bags.

"What a mess," she laughed nervously, "I'm sorry to bore you with all my issues, Castle," she said as she turned away from him.

"No, it's fine. Whether you choose to accept it or not, I care about you. I always will care about you, I love you," Castle swallowed sighed in exasperation. Beckett froze at hearing his words and turned to face him, a stern expression splayed across her face. Beckett stood there, silent. She didn't know what to say. What castle had just said shouldn't have come as a surprise to her but it had. After everything they had been through together, she should have known this was coming, right?

She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Castle's phone rang. She almost jumped out of skin with shock. Castle blinked slowly and moved to answer the phone.

"Castle," he said in a low voice. His face changed from expressionless to annoyance. It was Martha and Alexis, "Come home now," he said with irritation, "No, of course nothing would be open. Do you have any idea what the time is, Mother?"

At hearing the mention of time, Beckett snapped out of her shocked state and gathered her things to leave. For a moment she had gotten lost in thoughts of Josh and Castle. What Castle had just said to her. What she had been discussing with him about her relationship with Josh. How they had both over stepped their boundaries. Her attention was brought back to Castle as he hung up the phone.

"They're on their way home," he said casually, "And you're leaving," he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, I mean…work. Will I see you at the Precinct later?" she asked as she headed straight for the door. Before Castle could say yes, Beckett's phone sounded. She had almost left it on Castle's kitchen bench top. He picked it up and noticed it was a text message from Josh. His heart sank a he handed the phone to her. She took it without so much as glancing at what the screen read. They no both stood by the door in awkward silence.

"Thanks for helping with the clean-up," Castle finally said. Beckett nodded.

"Thanks for listening to me talk about…_Josh,_" she said before opening the door and stepping, "Good Night," she said.

As Castle heard her footsteps descending and fading, he muttered under his breath the single word, "Night," before shutting the door with a small amount of force. He stood with his back against the door and reflected on what he had just told Beckett. Brushing away the thoughts as something for a later time in the day, he decided to go to bed.

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_**Decent hours of 24**__**th**__** May**_

That day at the Precinct went normal enough for everyone else, but was completely different for Richard Castle. He felt like the world had lost its colour. Murder was almost actually a morbid subject for him, it wasn't something that was known to be a part of daily routine. He felt as though Beckett was ignoring him, or at least avoiding him. But why was it that no one else seemed to notice these things? The day seemed to go on forever. Gates barking her orders at every single person she encountered. Was this day going to get any worse? Finally, it was time to leave. Castle felt like a child at school again, waiting for those long six hours to pass, so he could go home and write. But no, not today. Today he got home and could only think about Beckett. Hours passed and he found things to occupy himself with, but his mind only turned back to the same subject. The woman he had just professed his love to. She hadn't sad anything in return, she hadn't even acknowledged it. He needed to talk to her. It hadn't been very long and he thought he should give her some time, so he waited, for about 7 minutes. Grabbing his cell phone and car keys, Castle dashed out the door.

"Richard?" Martha called after him. That entire time, he had been lost in his own world while he was watching a movie with Martha and Alexis. Both women were completely perplexed, Castle had left without even saying anything. He had been acting strange the entire evening, so both women decided to let it go. The movie they were watching was too good to miss anyway.

Castle got into his car in a huge rush. He was about to start the engine when he realised what he was doing. Heading over to Beckett's place at 8.52pm. Deciding that this idea was entirely inappropriate, he felt it was best to text her before he got there.

_I'm on my way over._

He clicked send and started the engine. When he was only ten minutes away from her apartment, he received a reply. When he got to a traffic light, he reached for his phone but couldn't make it before the lights switched back to green. He hoped that Beckett was actually home right now. Where would she be anyway? With Josh maybe. But she herself said that they barely see each other. If he went over to her place and she wasn't there, it wouldn't matter. In the back of his mind, there was a little voice that kept telling him that what he was doing was wrong. He needed to give her time. He couldn't just barge in there and expect her to feel the same way about him. She was with someone as well. This was bad, but it was too late now. Before her knew it, he was knocking on Beckett's apartment door.

"Castle? What are you doing here?" she said with confusion. She took a step to the side to let him in.

"Didn't you get my text?" he asked as he turned around to face her.

"What text?" she said. Castle pulled out his phone and opened his mouth in shock. He had sent the message to Ryan by mistake. He figured it was because he had listed Beckett and Ryan in his contacts under their first names. They both had first names beginning with K, and he must have hit Ryan's name instead of Beckett's.

"I sent you a text saying that I was coming over," he explained.

"Why are you here?" she asked in annoyance. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited as he took a few steps towards her.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your night but I need to talk to you about this morning," he said. Beckett frowned and scoffed. As she tried to walk away, he placed both his hands on her shoulders and stopped her.

"Castle, you did not come all the way over here for _that_, did you?"

"I just need to know how you feel," he half whined.

"Castle I-"

"You're with someone. But be honest with yourself here," he looked into her eyes and let go of her shoulders. He was standing too close to her so he took a step back, "Please do _something_. If you don't feel the same way then just say so," he urged. She stood still in the same spot. Castle's eyes darkened in sadness as he prepared to move away entirely.

But before he could do so, "I can't," she stuttered.

"Why not?" he said, now entirely perplexed.

"Because I love you too,"

Beckett sent him into a kind of shock as her face crashed onto his with a searing kiss.

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_**25**__**th**__** May**_

Beckett awoke with a start. She looked to the other side of the bed ad saw Castle still sleeping.

"Oh God. What have I done?" she said quietly, recalling the actions of the previous night.

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**A/N**: Sorry for the long chapter. R&R Thanks Xx


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't Own Castle.

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_**25**__**th**__** May**_

_Beckett awoke with a start. She looked to the other side of the bed ad saw Castle still sleeping. _

"_Oh God. What have I done?" she said quietly, recalling the actions of the previous night. _

She nudged Castle to wake him up.

"Castle," she said in a harsh whisper. Realising that there no one else in her apartment that was trying to sleep, she figured that it would be best if she didn't whisper, "Castle," she spoke at a normal level this time. He stirred but didn't wake fully. She sighed in preparation for what she was about to do, "Castle!" she half yelled as she slapped his arm hard. He flinched and woke up immediately.

"Ow," he said groggily.

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Castle and Beckett managed to avoid talking as they both got out of bed.

"Rick-"

"Don't worry,"

"No it's just- I didn't…I mean- I did mean what I _said_ last night, but the…" she trailed off, "It was a mistake!" she blurted suddenly. She brought her hands to cover her face. Castle stepped back in surprise, "it shouldn't have happened that way,"

"Kate, I under-"

"I mean I still think of you as being _Castle,_" she began ignoring Castle and talking to herself.

"Kate," he tried to interrupt but he couldn't.

"How I could I be so selfish? How could go right ahead and do this to Josh?"

"Hey it takes two to-"

"I started it," she countered, finally turning to face Castle, "I have to go," she said as she rushed to grab her coat. Castle couldn't help but laugh as she slammed the door behind her. He continued to gather his own belongings and prepared for Beckett's return, so _he_ could leave _her_ place.

No more than five minutes later, the door swung open and Beckett strode back in. She began pacing the room, "I didn't want to two time anyone Castle," she said. She appeared panicked but still calmer than earlier. She slowed down and sat down on the nearest surface she could find, which happened to be a coffee table. Castle knelt down in front of her and made eye contact with her.

"I love you," he said quietly. She furrowed her brow in worry.

"I-" she took a breath before continuing, "I'm with Josh," she said weakly. Castle stood up and moved to the door, he was gone before she could stop him. Assuming that she would see Castle at the Precinct, she turned her attention to Josh. She picked up her cell and dialled his number, "Josh. I really need to speak with you. Can we have lunch or _something_ at all?...Yes today…What? Are you sure you can't free yourself any other time, I really want this to be… No, I'll come now then," she ended the conversation with a stern tone of voice. She swallowed the lump that was stuck in her throat as she came to terms with the fact that she was now on her way to break up with Josh and tell him about her sudden turn of events with Castle.

Beckett felt as though she was moving entirely too quickly. First she was with Josh and now she wasn't. All because of this deed she hadn't meant to commit.

A certain thought crossed her mind for a moment. Why did she have to end things with Josh so soon? She pushed the thought aside immediately. She mentally began kicking herself for even considering a thought such as that. She wanted to be with Castle. She had said the three little words that both of them had long been with holding but she still hadn't really admitted it to herself yet. Breaking away from her silent thoughts, Beckett was brought back to reality by the sudden ringing of her phone. It was Gates.

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She walked into the Precinct in a massive rush to find Castle when she first greeted by Ryan.

"Morning-"

"Hey have you seen Castle?" she said without stopping her stride. Ryan shook his head and Beckett immediately pulled out her phone and dialled his number. No answer. Before she had left her place to come to the Precinct, she had gone to meet Josh and spilled her guts about absolutely everything.

_**Conversation with Josh**_

"_I really need to talk to you," she said when they finally met up. He had some free time and told her to come out with him for something to eat. When she got there, he was already sitting down. _

"_Don't you want something to eat?' he asked, "At least sit down Kate," he said gently. She looked down at the seat and sat down. _

"_I…" she didn't know how to start the conversation, so she decided it would be best to just come out with it, "I came here to apologise to you. Please don't say anything, just listen to me. Last night I did something that in some ways I regret. Lately I have been feeling really distant from you and I want that to end. I do like you Josh but I just don't think we're right for each other. I just don't feel like I am putting my full energy into this relationship. I know I'm not trying hard enough and I could do something about that but I don't want to be with you when I know I'm on love with someone else," _

_At hearing the last few words, Josh's head shot up in surprise, "What?" he said, "So we're over then? Just like that?" _

"_I need to be completely honest with you," she said nervously, "Last night I-I slept with Castle," she finally managed to get the words. Not being able to look at his face any longer, Beckett chose to look down in sadness. They both sat there in silence until she spoke up, "I didn't mean for it to happen. It was my entire fault. He did nothing and I initiated it and I am sorry I had no intention for things to get out of hand," Kate swallowed and waited for Josh to say something. She looked up at his face but he wasn't looking at her. _

"_Castle?" he repeated, "With Castle?" Beckett didn't say anything more, only observed what his next move was going to be. Without saying anything, or even looking at Beckett, Josh slammed some money down on the table loudly, causing Beckett to jump. He stood up and walked away. She breathed out and looked at the time, figuring that he only needed time to cool off or something. She stood up and headed to the Precinct, deciding to call Castle and see if he was there._

Beckett thought back to how she had chosen to break up with Josh, figuring that might have been a better way of doing it. She continued her fast paced walk and reached Gates' office.

"You have work to do," Gates greeted her as soon as she walked in.

"Sir, I think something might be wrong with Castle,"

"And this matters to me why?" Gates was doing paperwork and hadn't yet met Beckett's gaze.

"He's not returning my calls and he didn't show up here this today-"

"He is not supposed to be here anyway. Why is this a problem?" Gates finally looked up at Beckett.

"Sir, I think he might be missing," Beckett said with a worried expression.

"24hours Detective Beckett. He hasn't been gone long enough to be classed as a missing person," Gates said as she continued to look through her paperwork.

"Permission to use some of my work time to get a head start on looking for him?" she asked.

"Denied. I am not letting you use this time to find Castle when there are cases to be solved. Tell me where the justice is in that? Not while you're on the job Detective," Gates shook her head and ignored Beckett's pleading eyes. Figuring that there was no other option, she pulled her gun and badge out, setting them down on Gates' desk. Gates looked at them and then at Beckett.

"If I can't do what I need to do while I'm on the job then I won't," she explained.

"Do you realise what you're doing?" Gates said with a frown of disapproval.

"Yes. I'm quitting," she said sternly. Before she lost her nerve, Beckett turned around and headed out the door. She walked past Ryan and Esposito on her way to the elevator.

"Yo Beckett. You alright? What's going on?" Esposito called out to her. She was already at the elevator now, so she walked in and turned to face them.

"I quit," she said as she pushed a button and disappeared behind the closing doors.

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**A/N**: R&R. Thanks Xx


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Do Not Own Castle or anything else...I don't even own the laptop I am using to write this chapter. Sad.

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_**Five Days Forward. 30**__**th**__** May. **_

Beckett awoke from her nightmare again. The recurring nightmare she had been having since Castle had gone missing. The nightmare where Josh is attacking her and she is trying to save Castle, save him from Josh. At first she thought that the nightmare was trying to tell her something so she acted on her instincts.

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_**Memories of 26**__**th**__** May.**_

_She had made a completely rash decision the previous day. She had resigned from the Precinct, in a completely unprofessional manner. She had told Gates that she was quitting, not even resigning, she had said the words "I'm quitting,"_

_Kate wasn't sure if she had done this out of some sort of adrenaline rush or something different entirely. She chose to ignore the reasons as to why she had done it, she needed to go back and get her things. Now that she thought about it, if she was doing these things with the right set of mind, she would have gotten her things yesterday. Adrenaline rush or not, she wasn't going back on her decision anytime soon. _

_Beckett felt as though lately she was doing everything without being in the right mind set anyway. She had slept with Castle, while she was in a relationship. The suddenly he skips out on her. She didn't want to believe it though. She refused to believe that he had left her. She always hoped he was safe. He was missing, which meant all kinds of possibilities, but definitely not death. As stupid as he was, he was far too smart for that. _

_She had been to his loft yesterday. It was the first place she had been when she quit the Precinct. No one was home. Martha was, but she was getting ready to leave. So, she decided that maybe she had overreacted and maybe she should go over there now, before filing a missing persons report. So that's what she did. _

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_**Present Day. 30**__**th**__** May. **_

Beckett lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Lanie had come over yesterday and spoken to her. Castle had been missing for five days now. Lanie, Ryan and Espo were quickly losing hope. It was all disappointing to Kate, how soon they chose to give up. No they hadn't given up yet, but they had that look in their eyes. That look that almost said, _"What's the point?" _As in what's the point of looking anymore? What's the point of going through with this? What is all this effort good for?

Of course they would never say that. They didn't mean it and maybe never even thought it, but it was still there, in their eyes. It's just a natural human emotion; none of them would ever give up on Castle. Beckett knew that of course.

She thought back to what Martha had told about Castle's whereabouts. She had gone over to the loft and Martha was on her way out. Apparently Alexis was out for the week, she had gone to a Campus day out. Where she stayed at College campuses for a week. It had started on the 24th, which meant that she would be back in around two days. It would act as a trial run for which College Alexis would go to. So asking Alexis about her father was completely out of the question. Naturally she went to Martha, who was on her way to the Hamptons.

She had asked her where Castle was and received the vague response of, _"He went out. He came home in a bit of a huff and told me that he was going for a drive so he could cool down. He also said that he would be back in a few hours. So I wouldn't worry Detective," _

Beckett took not worrying into consideration and gave up quickly. So Castle had gone for a drive and she had broken up with Josh right before this. Josh had left in a blind rage and now Castle is missing. She wanted to believe that the two things were mutually exclusive. That Josh had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Castle's disappearance.

She couldn't believe that thought had even crossed her mind. She pushed it aside and got up out of bed. She got dressed and made her way over to the board she had created for Castle.

It really was the only thing that made sense. Abduction. She didn't want to believe that Josh had anything to do with this. But if the black hat fits…

She decided to spend the rest of the day at home. She wasn't going on any kind of escapade in search of him. She sat down on her couch and stared at her phone, half expecting it to ring with a call from Castle. She wanted to pick it up and try his number again, but she knew that it would completely useless.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud noise of her phone vibrating against her coffee table. She jumped and leaped off her couch to answer it. Of course, she tripped instantly and instead fell to the floor. Her phone was still vibrating loudly against the table. She reached up and pulled it down, still lying on the floor.

"Beckett," she said out of breath, she hadn't checked the caller ID. Her eyes widened when she heard who was speaking on the other line, "Castle?" she asked.

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**A/N:** I hope the date changing thing isn't confusing people. Let me know if it is! Thanks Xx


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Wow, it's been a while since I updated!

**Disclaimer:** _Do not own_ anything that has something that might come close to an object that relates with something that might pertain to having any kind of relationship with the TV show _Castle._

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_**30**__**th**__** May.**_

"_Beckett," she said out of breath, she hadn't checked the caller ID. _

"Hi my name is Angela and I'm calling from Hartford Hospital. We understand that you know a Richard Castle," a female nurse spoke quickly and in a rushed tone.

Her eyes widened when she heard who was speaking on the other line, "Castle?" she asked.

"Mr Richard Castle. Are you available to come and see him?" she continued her quick pace.

"He's in hospital? Is he ok? What happened? And Hartford? As in Connecticut!" she yelled.

"We prefer to discuss his condition with you in person. We were unable to contact next of kin, thus we called _you_ Miss Beckett,"

"Yes I'll be there," Beckett began explaining to the nurse that she'll take a minimum of two hours to get there because she was in New York.

"We have no authority to transfer Mr Castle to New York, I'm sorry you will have to come to Connecticut," the nurse said with an emotionless tone. As soon as she had all the details, she texted Lanie about where she was going and packed an overnight bag. She hoped to God that nothing was seriously wrong with him.

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_**Almost One Month Later… 27**__**th**__** June. **_

Kate sat in her obstetrician's office and drummed her fingers across her arm rest with edginess. She breathed a long, quiet sigh of impatience as she waited for him to get back. She turned to her right and stared at the credentials that hung in their shiny black frames. It was almost as though he was _showing off_ to his patients. Rubbing his success in their faces, bragging about how much better than them he is. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and jumped as the handle of the door slowly turned and the door opened, revealing her new Doctor with a clipboard in hand. Beckett considered him to be _her new doctor_ because she had chosen to come to a place that required a drive which was longer than 30 minutes, to avoid bumping into anyone she might know. She really couldn't handle seeing anyone in her state, especially in her current situation.

"Good Afternoon Miss Beckett, sorry for the wait," he spoke far too chipper for her liking. She cleared her throat and shuffled in her seat uncomfortably.

"Afternoon Dr," Beckett never said his name. She felt that it was too personal and she uncomfortable in this place as it was.

"Well I have the results from your most recent test," she nodded as he flipped through the pages that were attached to his clipboard. He sat down in the sit behind his desk and gave her a serious expression, "I'm happy to cut to the chase," he said solemnly.

"Just tell me," she replied with a dull expression across her face.

"Well Detective Beckett, you're pregnant! Congratulations," he said with a smile, as though he didn't give women this news on a daily basis, like it was an entirely new topic for him to discuss.

Beckett gave him a tight lipped smile, "Thank you," she said quietly. She had suspicions but now, everything just became so much more real. She was having Richard Castle's baby.

"Will the father be able to attend any of your appointments at all?" he asked as he took more notes down on his pad after he handed her the clipboard so she could view it for herself.

"He's- He was...I mean-No he won't be coming at all. I'm a –a…single mother. But I have support from other people," she choked the words out, almost crying. Beckett sniffed and dabbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't crying. She looked down sadly and avoided eye contact.

"Well it's good to see that you have support, but I do sympathise," he said with a tone that came out somewhat sad. He looked at her as though she was a mooching war widow. Beckett brushed it off and looked down at the test results, noticing an unexplained number in the top right hand corner.

"That's ok," she said rather dismissively as she continued to read the paper. She lifted it up and showed him, pointing at the number as she spoke, "What does that mean?"

The doctor began a long winded speech using copious amounts of medical jargon she didn't understand at all. Beckett looked down at her lap and tilted her head to the side in boredom. She zoned out and only payed attention when she felt she understood what he was saying, "…And so the higher it is, the better chance you have of giving birth to twins,"

Her head immediately shot up at the mention of twins, "Twins?" she said as she leaned forward with panic.

"Yes," he said as he took the clipboard away from her, "Oh and your odds are looking pretty good," he said with a large grin, "we can't be sure at this point, still too early, but the odds are definitely in favour of twins,"

She fell back in her seat, breathing heavily with nerves. "Wow," she muttered under her breath. She was still getting used to the idea of having _a child_, but two? All of this _without Castle_?

"Yes, well my next appointment is scheduled for around this time, so if you just go to the front desk we can organise your next appointment. Also, just a small word of advice," he said as he escorted her to his office door.

"Joy," she said sarcastically under her breath, turning her head away from him as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked. Beckett smiled sweetly and shook her head, "Well I suggest that you bring someone with you to your next few appointments. Is this your first pregnancy?"

Beckett looked at him sceptically. Did this guy really think that the father of her _other kids_ would just desert her, come back and then leave again? Unless he thought that she just loved to have children with every man she met in a five mile radius. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she gave him a silent nod in response.

"Then most of this will be new to you. Definitely the experience," he laughed, "It can be a lot to handle. So maybe if you brought a friend or family member with you next time?" he suggested.

Beckett nodded, thinking about _Rick_. She knew that he would have loved to come to the appointments. Heck, if he'd known, he wouldn't let her leave his sight. But that wasn't an issue, _not anymore_.

"Well I look forward to seeing you again, have a good evening," her doctor said as he left her alone with the receptionist. She bid him goodbye and smiled at the polite administrator.

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A/N: Okay I feel really bad right now because this story is not very Casketty. In fact there is no Caskett at all at this moment & don't get me wrong I love Caskett as much as the next Castle fanatic so there will be Caskett goodness eventually (**possibly** when I skip back in time & we find out what happened to Castle…**Maybe**). Bear with me & review please.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: **Abnormally large chapter ahead**. **This is an extra-long chapter that was written specifically for my best friend **SezzaLuvBones**. Sorry if it is exhausting to read.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Castle.

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_**27**__**th**__** June.**_

Beckett drove home and tried to clear her mind. No one knew she was pregnant, except Lanie. Lanie always seemed to have a sixth sense about these things anyway. She had spoken to Lanie and now Lanie was waiting at Beckett's apartment. When she arrived home, Beckett stood outside her door and took deep breath before opening it. She slowly poked her head around the door and found Lanie comfortable on the couch with a magazine.

"Why hello there, Incubator," Lanie said without taking her eyes off the magazine. She stood up and put the magazine down, walking towards Beckett quickly, an expectant expression splayed across her face. Kate looked down before speaking.

"Lanie, I might be pregnant with twins," she spoke quickly, as though trying to get the topic out in the open and out of the way. Lanie blinked. She was rendered speechless.

"S-So you're sure then? You _are_ pregnant?" she stuttered, her eyes growing wider as she spoke.

"Not only am I pregnant Lanie, but there be _two_ of them," she brought one hand to rest against her temple. Beckett began pacing the room, Lanie still standing in the same spot, completely and utterly dumbfounded.

"Oh My God," Lanie moved towards Beckett and pulled her into a hug, "Congratulations! Kate this is so great!" she was still slightly speechless, but managed to give Kate a hug before she started pulling away.

"No its not," she snapped as she moved away from any physical contact with Lanie, "I mean under normal circumstances, yeah this _would_ be great but…" Beckett walked towards her couch and plonked herself down, closely followed by Lanie.

"Hey, it is not your fault that Castle isn't here anymore," Lanie sat next to her and began rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"That's the thing, it is!" she exclaimed. Lanie was taken aback, literally.

"Wait, I thought you said-"

"I lied!" she cut her off with a quavering voice as though she was trying to seem strong and avoid crying, "About a month ago…You know what happened," she gave Lanie a knowing look, who responded with a silent nod, "But then Castle left and I thought he went missing, but he didn't,"

"Honey, you're not telling me stuff I don't already know," Lanie spoke gently and with as much sympathy she could.

"He told me everything Lanie," Beckett continued speaking, ignoring the ME's words, "He told me exactly what happened before I came to get him,"

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_**25**__**th**__** May **_– Castle's Story;

Had he just done the deed with Katherine Beckett? Had Richard Castle finally given in to his feelings for the most beautiful woman in the world and gotten turned down? She had asked him to leave; she had told him that she was in a relationship, that there couldn't be anything between them because of it. But before that, she had professed her love for him to. What does all this mean?

"Richard, darling-" Martha greeted him as he walked into the loft in a huff.

"I'm so confused," he stated aggressively. He ruffled his hair and scrubbed his face with his palms, "I don't know what just happened. I don't what she wants,"

"_I_ don't know what you're talking about," Martha replied wide eyed.

"I can't be here now. I'm going out for a drive. I-I need to cool down," he opened the door and slammed it behind him.

"Oh…Kay?" she said slowly.

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To him, he had only been driving for 10 minutes. In reality, he had been driving over two hours and was now in Connecticut. He remembered that he told Beckett he'd be at the Precinct later and she wouldn't take "I'm in Hartford," as an appropriate excuse, would she? He brushed the thoughts aside and noticed a bar that was open. Naturally, his first action was to stop and park the car. His second action was to go inside and try to drink without getting drunk. Was that even scientifically possible for Richard Castle? Oh well, Challenge Accepted.

He sat on a bar stool located next to a bloke that was hunched over a tiny glass held in his right hand. It was almost completely empty, but the bloke picked it up and tipped it downwards over his mouth, as though more alcohol was to magically appear and trickle down his throat. Castle looked at him in pity and down at his own hands which were currently resting against his thighs. A female bartender approached him and asked him what he wanted.

"Uh…Scotch please?" he said quietly. The bartender nodded and took a glass from under the bar. Castle looked around, trying to avoid the man's glance until he noticed in his peripheral vision that the _bloke_ was staring at _him_.

"Good Luck getting drunk off _that_," he slurred. Castle turned to face, ducking his head down and raising his eyebrows.

"I beg your pardon?" he said, trying to avoid giving the man elevator eyes.

"They sell ya a glass of ice and you get Scotch thrown in for free," the man started laughing, which soon turned into a coughing fit. He appeared to be not much younger than Castle, so the coughing didn't last long.

"Huh," he said sarcastically.

"Name's Joe," he held his hand out for a shake. Castle looked at it as though it was a foreign object. He slid his hand in and gave him one firm pump from the elbow.

"Castle…Uh, Rick Castle," he pulled his arm away and picked up the glass that had just been placed in front of him, downing the whole thing in one go.

"No kidding. You're _that_ guy. You wrote them Nikki somethin' books," Joe nodded at the bartender to give him a refill.

"Heat. The Nikki Heat books," Castle corrected Joe, his mind suddenly flooded with thoughts of Beckett. He picked up the newly filled glass and downed it.

"Yeah that's the one! My girlfriend was hell into you," Joe slammed his glass down on the bar.

"Okay. Thanks?" Castle replied as he put his glass down.

"Course, she ain't my girlfriend no more. She broke up with me," he said with a huge pout.

"I know the feeling," Castle twirled his empty glass around in his hand.

"I miss her so much," Joe began blubbering insanely, "What better way t-to drown my sorrows than with my good ol' friend? _You'll_ never leave me will ya?" Joe started talking to the small glass in his hand. Castle frowned and tried his hardest not to laugh.

"No offence, well I just met you so you really shouldn't get offended by anything I say, but I plan on staying here a while, so please promise that you will stop me if I come anywhere near close to being as drunk as _you,_" Rick pointed a finger at the blubbering drunk and cocked an eyebrow.

"No worries Pal. I have a feeling we're gonna be great friends by the end of _this_ night," Joe slapped an arm across Castle's back, causing him to flinch in pain, "Tell me about her. What's her name?"

Castle sniffed and gave a half smile, looking away from Joe and instead straight ahead to the shiny bottles that neatly stood side by side behind the bar, "Kate. Kate Beckett,"

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_**6 hours later… Early hours of 26**__**th**__** May. **_

"And now," before he continued speaking, Castle coughed a dry yet somehow phlegmy and loud cough, "She's with Dr Motor Cycle Boy. So I'm a pathetic drunk. Cos there's nothing like a depressant to chase the blues away," he yelled as he held his glass up in a toasting fashion.

"Hear hear," Joe yelled even louder. Both men grunted with joy and almost smashed their glasses together before drinking the remainder of the brown liquid.

"God we've reached an all-time new low," without caring about his sentences being grammatically correct or even making sense, he closed his eyes in a long hard blink, "I should be helping people instead drowning myself in booze. I'll start with you," he pointed at Joe and almost fell off his stool while he was at it.

"Huh?" Joe said before hiccupping.

"Am I being enough supportive?" he frowned at himself, "Reverse…r-reverse those last two words," Rick laughed so hard it was barely heard by anyone.

"I don't need her," Joe cried, "Who am I kidding? I love her! I want her back," Joe was quickly reduced to tears again.

"What are you gonna do?" Castle's words were muffled from the glass he was holding in front of his mouth that he was trying to drink from. Joe collapsed on his arms that were currently resting cross the bar.

"We should text 'em," Joe's head shot back up and almost gave Rick a heart attack. Joe pulled his cell out at the same time Castle took his out.

"Sorry I can't, my cell phone's dead. I think it's been dead since this morning," he shrugged and put it down next to his glass.

"Argh," Joe grunted.

"What did she say?" Castle asked, barely being able to keep his eyes open.

"I haven' texted her yet. It's 12.43am. I don' think…that it would be approproprirate for me to text her now mate," he slurred and stumbled over the word appropriate.

"I hope she isn't worried about me. My phone's been dead for a while now. Oh who am I kidding? She doesn't care about me," Castle frowned plonked his face down on the bar.

"I have a br-r-r-r-rrill idea!" Joe rolled his tongue as he spoke and slapped Castle on the back again.

"Ow," he groaned without lifting his head, instead only turning to the side so he could see Joe, "Could you maybe stop doing that?" he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.

"I own a Jewellery store! Let's propose to 'em," Joe said with wide gleaming eyes. Castle's eyes shot open. He tried to lift his hand up from under the bar but hit it against the bottom of the bar by accident. He shut his eyes tightly in pain.

"Ahh! Ow," he lifted his head and pulled his hand up to his mouth, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah Man! Come on, it's the only way we can prove to them that we're real men. That we're serious about them and that we're worth being with," Joe's chest physically swelled with pride as he spoke.

"Yeah!" Rick shouted, "I love Kate Beckett! And also, _I'm way too drunk to argue with you_! Let's go!" he continued to yell as he stood up from his bar stool.

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_**Out in the Street**_

"For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow!" the two men had their arms across each other's shoulders and were stumbling through the streets singing at the top of their lungs. They walked in the middle of the road because there were no cars in sight.

"I'm telling you, you're not going to find a place that's open," Castle complained.

"Says the foreigner from New York! Trust me, I have Connecticutions! Which means Connecticut Connections," Joe whispered.

"Whoa! You got some strong fumes _too_ Buddy," Castle pushed him. Joe stumbled backwards and stopped walking for a minute.

"There it is!" he yelled, holding his arms out in exaggeration. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some keys. Running towards the door of the Jewellery store, Joe unlocked it and shut the alarm off.

"You're breaking in!?" Castle said in a harsh whisper when he caught up to him.

"Pfftkk-! No! This is my place," he said before walking straight in, "Now you can pick out whatever you want,"

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Once they had both purchased their engagement rings, they left the store and walked around, still drunk, pondering the decision they had just made.

"I'm feeling pretty good about this Rick," Joe said as they came across a small bridge that hung over a lake. The lake was fairly deep, though not very deep. In fact it was still potentially dangerous and the bridge was one made from wood and rope, though it still appeared sturdy.

"I'm not so sure," Castle said quietly. He took two steps towards the bridge and almost tripped. Joe followed him and they both stood on the moving bridge. It swung from side to side every time either one of them took a step forward. Castle stopped in the middle of the bridge and leant over the side railing that was made from rope. He held the ring's box in his hands and opened it, staring at the shiny rock. Breathing a deep and loud sigh, he closed the box and put it back in his pocket.

"Here comes the kick," Joe called out. Joes wasn't going to literally kick Castle, it was only supposed to be funny to see his reaction. But, seeing his reaction wasn't funny at all.

Normally after hearing something as crazy as that, he would only moved to the side to avoid whatever was coming to him. But this time he had been distracted whilst leaning against the bridge, so his only reaction was to flinch. As he flinched, he lost his balance so he grabbed onto the flimsy rope railing which only pulled him straight over the bridge and into the water.

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**A/N: **Please let me know what you think…


	9. Chapter 9

**For Kick Caskett. Pumpkin ;) **

**Disclaimer**: Do Not Own Castle

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_**27**__**th**__** May**_ – Castle's Story;

Richard Castle awoke in the hospital with both his legs in pain. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Hospital bed," he stated quietly to himself as he rubbed his hands against the sterile sheets, "God, how drunk was I?" he said as he brought a hand to his head and tried to sit up. He quickly slid back down in his slouching position when he realised he couldn't do it. Whatever was wrong with him, it was in his legs.

"Mr Castle, how are we this morning?" a nurse came and read the clipboard that was sitting at the end of his bed.

"I have no idea," he replied with dazed eyes.

"Alcohol poisoning," the nurse stated as he placed the clipboard back, "Both your legs are broken and you're suffering from alcohol poisoning,"

"What? What the hell happened?" he yelled, trying to sit up again. He cried out in pain at remembering that his legs were _broken_.

"I wouldn't recommend that-" the nurse began speaking but Rick cut him off.

"Would you recommend any kind of drugs for the pain?" he asked with a strained tone.

"Not in your state, no. I have a feeling that it will be a while until you can go home-"

"Home! Where is home? I mean where _am I_?" his eyes grew wide suddenly and he looked panicky towards the nurse. He folded his arms and began speaking only when he was sure that Castle was done panicking.

"You are in Hartford Connecticut. I know that you're not from here, so if you don't mind me asking, where do you live?" the nurse queried.

"New York!" Rick yelled.

"You're a long way from home buddy," he heard one of the other patients call out to him. Castle's shoulders relaxed in annoyance at the fact that someone would bring up such an obvious fact. He looked around, observing his surroundings further and growing deeper in thought about the previous night.

"Kate…" he said quietly to himself, "I need to talk to Kate," he said to the nurse.

"We've tried contacting your mother and your daughter but neither-"

"What about Kate!? Uh-Detective Kate Beckett from the Twelfth Precinct," he interrupted the nurse again.

"Ok Mr Castle, I will see what I can do. For now, you will just need to relax and please stay calm for your sake and for the rest of our patients,"

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_**28**__**th**__** May**_ – Castle's Story;

Life was just one big Hospital room now. As dreary and as dull as that sounded, that is exactly the way Rick would describe it as being. He was still unsure as to whether they had called Kate to come to him and he was beginning to worry about her. Ironic, considering the fact that he was the one in hospital. Since he had awoken the previous day, he had been badgering the nurses to call Kate and he was getting tired of it, not to mention the other patients had taken to glaring at him every time they heard the name.

The pain of Rick's broken legs weren't going away, so the nurse felt it appropriate that they, as he had put it himself, "hook him up to some morphine!" He adjusted his dosage whenever he felt necessary and due to his boredom and worry over Kate, he was taking more than he needed.

More than he wished he had Kate, he wished he could at least have his laptop. If nothing could take his mind off her or the pain, then writing would. But no such luck. He lay there silently in bed and waited for his disgusting meal to arrive. He thought that maybe if dinner was to arrive soon, he'd be able to think of something other than Beckett and the mind numbing pain of his legs.

Pumpkin Soup. Tonight's dinner was pumpkin soup. Naturally, the first thing that popped into his mind was Beckett. They were finally starting out on the right track, sort of. Well not really. They went about their feelings for each other entirely wrong. If they had managed to get it right, he could be calling her names. Cute little pet names, like Pumpkin. She definitely wouldn't appreciate that.

He slowly began slurping down the luke-warm soup. After he had eaten what he could he figured that it was time for bed.

Turning to his left, he tried to grab a peek at the clock. 8.03pm. Oh well, whether it was early or not, this hospital was doing a right good job of making him feel depressed.

Though he was trying to fall asleep, he couldn't shut his mind off. Kate Beckett was rolling around in circles through his head. What was she doing? Was she okay? Did she know where he was? Did she _care_ about where he was?

No. He couldn't fall asleep with thoughts of Kate and nothing but Kate. Maybe he could try and remember what had happened a couple of nights ago. Why on earth would he want to be _that_ drunk? All he remembered for now was Joe. The bar and the bridge. Falling off the bridge.

Wasn't there something in the middle? Wait, who _was_ Joe exactly?

Castle sighed and felt as though he was an additional character on the movie _The Hangover_. But that was fictional and this was real life. _His_ life. That's when it clicked.

Joe was a jewellery store owner. He bought an engagement ring. Gosh, was he going to ask for Kate's hand in marriage!?

_That's not too fast at all._ Sarcasm began to overload his head and he definitely wasn't falling asleep now. _Time for some morphine_. He told himself.

As he slowly drifted off into a deeper sleep, his thoughts went back to the engagement ring. _Where was it? _

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_**30**__**th**__** May – **_They meet again…

"Beckett,"_ she said out of breath, she hadn't checked the caller ID. _

"_Hi my name is Angela and I'm calling from Hartford Hospital. We understand that you know a Richard Castle," a female nurse spoke quickly and in a rushed tone. _

_Her eyes widened when she heard who was speaking on the other line, "Castle?" she asked._

"_Mr Richard Castle. Are you available to come and see him?" she continued her quick pace. _

"_He's in hospital?! Is he ok? What happened? And Hartford? As in Connecticut!?" she yelled. _

"_We prefer to discuss his condition with you in person. We were unable to contact next of kin, thus we called you Miss Beckett,"_

"_Yes I'll be there," Beckett began explaining to the nurse that she'll take a minimum of two hours to get there because she was in New York. _

"_We have no authority to transfer Mr Castle to New York, I'm sorry you will have to come to Connecticut," the nurse said with an emotionless tone. As soon as she had all the details, she texted Lanie about where she was going and packed an overnight bag. She hoped to God that nothing was seriously wrong with him. _

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What was statistically only a two hour long drive, to Beckett; it almost felt as though it was a 5 hour long drive. When she finally got to the hospital, she got out of the car as soon as she possibly could, almost forgetting to lock the doors. She ignored the location of the parking spot she had picked and ran straight for the doors.

Bursting through the doors, she started rambling to the first desk she could find. The process of rambling to different people went on and on until she finally found someone who knew who Castle was.

"We have his personal belongings here. Who might you be?" the woman at the desk asked.

"Kate Beckett!" she snapped, "You called me. I mean, not _you_ but- _someone called me_!" she put her hands on her temples trying to calm herself.

"Do you have photo I.D?" the woman asked kindly, almost as though she took sympathy in the way Beckett was feeling right now. Kate appreciated her kindness and co-operated as calmly and politely as she could. Once she had the information she needed, the woman handed Kate all of Castle's belongings in what was a box about the same size as a shoe box.

That's when she saw it, the box.

Out of pre curiosity, she opened it only to find an engagement ring. She swallowed audibly and closed the box quickly, as if closing it as fast as she could would make it magically disappear into thin air. Suddenly she wished she hadn't seen it. She put it back in the "shoe" box, all the way at the bottom.

The woman tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump.

"I can escort you to his room," she said softly, trying not to startle Kate any further.

"Sure, um yeah sorry," Kate replied. She'd have to face him now, knowing all of his intentions…

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**A/N: **I never realised how depressing this story is. I apologize but never fear it will be Casketty, soonish…perhaps. (Stories have a mind of their own) If you want to see Caskett get married, read "**A Proposal Gone Wrong**" Its fluff and nothing but. I am trying my hardest to make this story happier. I think I must have been upset when I first started writing this, I don't know. Anyway, forgive me for my lack of Caskettness. I am trying to finish this story so I can move onto a fluffy piece with wild speculations for S5! R&R Thanks Xx


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: Contrary to popular belief I ship Caskett, this story is just very depressing right now… Sorry. Omgosh…what's this? _Another_ update so soon? Yeah, it's not because I have time but it is because I just can't be bothered doing the things I really _should_ be doing. Anyway, who can concentrate with all those spoilers out there saying that Beckett might be doing a walk of shame!?

**Disclaimer**: Do Not Own Castle.

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_**30**__**th**__** May **_

_Out of pure curiosity, she opened it only to find an engagement ring. She swallowed audibly and closed the box quickly, as if closing it as fast as she could would make it magically disappear into thin air. Suddenly she wished she hadn't seen it. She put it back in the "shoe" box, all the way at the bottom. _

_The woman tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump._

"_I can escort you to his room," she said softly, trying not to startle Kate any further. _

"_Sure, um yeah sorry," Kate replied. She'd have to face him now, knowing all of his intentions…_

For now, that ring did not exist. She didn't know anything about it, at least not until he proposed to her. _If_ he was going to propose to her, maybe it was only…a commitment ring?

Kate found herself physically rolling her eyes at her own insane thoughts. A _commitment ring_? Right, Rick Castle gives Kate Beckett a commitment ring. She insentiently handed the "shoe" box to the nurse that was leading the way into the room.

"Right this way," the nurse interrupted her thoughts by gesturing inside a large room. She spotted Castle immediately. He had just taken his most recent dose of Morphine and had closed his in rest.

She slowly walked cautiously towards the end of the bed and as quiet as she was, he still felt her presence and opened his eyes. Or maybe he heard her.

"Katherine," he said happily. She walked closer to the side of the bed instead of the end of the bed, so she could be closer to him.

"Oh _good _they still have you medicated," she said sarcastically through a clenched toothy smile.

"I'm really tired but I have good news," he said, sitting up slightly as he opened his eyes fully. She pulled up a chair right next to him and sat down.

"Okay?" she said with a confused smile. Only Richard Castle could find the positive light in this situation. Correction, only Richard Castle _on morphine_ could find the positive light in this situation.

"I can call you my muse and you can't do anything about it because both my legs are broken," he said with a dopey smile.

"What are you talking about?" she frowned and then remembered what she had said to him at least two years ago, maybe more. She was surprised he actually remembered her threat when he called her his muse. She threatened to break both his legs if he called her that again.

Kate looked down at her feet and chuckled. She sniffed and tried to blink away the dampness that threatened to fall from her eyes before turning back to face Castle, "You've broken both your legs," she stated sternly yet sadly.

"Yeah I don't remember much of what happened though," he still sounded 'dopey' but to Kate, it appeared that morphine was wearing off. She looked away, avoiding tears again until suddenly she felt his hand grab hers. She turned around quickly to face him and that's when she saw it.

The look on his face and the sorrow in his eyes, "What?"

"I'm sorry," he stated simply. She unconsciously squeezed his hand tightly, as though she was involuntarily forgiving him.

"Oh yeah. What for?" she asked with a straight face.

"You know why. For leaving you after…that night. For driving to Connecticut," he said hysterically, yet somehow quietly. She nodded and felt the sudden urge to change the subject.

"How much _do_ you remember?" after the words flew right out of her mouth, she figured it wasn't exactly changing the subject.

"About leaving for Connecticut?" he scoffed, "Where do I begin? I was with you and then-"

"Yeah I know Rick, I was there,"

"Well I went home afterwards and I thought I could _drive it off_. No who would have thought I would lose track of the time like that?" he tried to end the story with a smile, but she didn't buy it.

"I know that's _not_ all. You remember more than you're letting on," Beckett was trying her best to make a subtle yet unsubtle reference to the engagement ring that she wasn't _supposed_ to know existed which was the ring _he thought_ she _didn't_ _know_ existed and the ring she _wished_ never _had_ existed.

"Well, there was one other thing. One other person, rather…" he began rambling about Joe and how they had gotten drunk together.

"There was nothing else? Nothing significant about that night? You guys just got drunk together and fell off a bridge? That's all? _Nothing_ else?" Beckett tired her hardest to drop hints for Castle but all she got out of him was…

"Nothing,"

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_**Almost One Month Later… 27**__**th**__** June. **_

"_Why hello there, Incubator," Lanie said without taking her eyes off the magazine. She stood up and put the magazine down, walking towards Beckett quickly, an expectant expression splayed across her face. Kate looked down before speaking. _

"_Lanie, I might be pregnant with twins," she spoke quickly, as though trying to get the topic out in the open and out of the way. Lanie blinked. She was rendered speechless. _

"_S-So you're sure then? You are pregnant?" she stuttered, her eyes growing wider as she spoke. _

"_Not only am I pregnant Lanie, but there be two of them," she brought one hand to rest against her temple. Beckett began pacing the room, Lanie still standing in the same spot, completely and utterly dumbfounded. _

"_Oh My God," Lanie moved towards Beckett and pulled her into a hug, "Congratulations! Kate this is so great!" she was still slightly speechless, but managed to give Kate a hug before she started pulling away. _

"_No its not," she snapped as she moved away from any physical contact with Lanie, "I mean under normal circumstances, yeah this would be great but…" Beckett walked towards her couch and plonked herself down, closely followed by Lanie. _

"_Hey, it is not your fault that Castle isn't here anymore," Lanie sat next to her and began rubbing soothing circles on her back. _

"_That's the thing, it is!" she exclaimed. Lanie was taken aback, literally. _

"_Wait, I thought you said-"_

"_I lied!" she cut her off with a quavering voice as though she was trying to seem strong and avoid crying, "About a month ago…You know what happened," she gave Lanie a knowing look, who responded with a silent nod, "But then Castle left and I thought he went missing, but he didn't," _

"_Honey, you're not telling me stuff I don't already know," Lanie spoke gently and with as much sympathy she could. _

"_He told me everything Lanie," Beckett continued speaking, ignoring the ME's words, "He told me exactly what happened before I came to get him," _

. . .

"Wow," Lanie sat back down and tried to catch her breath, "Why?" she said looking at Beckett again.

"Why what?"

"Kate, why did you end it? I mean now you're- and was there really need to…to _blow _him off like that? Wait a second, how do you even know he's the father?"

"Excuse me!?" Kate shrieked.

"I mean he's not the only candidate-"

"There has never been a time in my life where I wished I could have one of those giant cream pies I could chuck at someone's face but you know there's definitely a first time for everything!" she half yelled.

"Calm down honey. I'm just saying…what about Josh?" she shrugged slowly and wrinkled her nose as though she was trying to avoid some sort of pain that was coming her way.

"I legitimately want to slap you right now," Beckett folded her arms across her chest and couldn't stop the smile that broke out across her face, "Well don't think I didn't think about that. I wouldn't just pin a kid on Castle if I didn't know for sure,"

"Well how _do_ you know?" Lanie pushed her limits once more without fear.

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A/N: Wow. What a seriously quickly written chapter. Hmm. Well see ya.


	11. Chapter 11

**For Kick Caskett, thank you for giving me Castle on DVD. SezzaLuvBones, thank you for introducing me to Castle, you both rock and this chapter is for **both** of you, though only **_one_ **of you will read it. **

**Disclaimer: **Castle is not mine. -_-

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_**Almost One Month Later… 27**__**th**__** June. **_

"_Wow," Lanie sat back down and tried to catch her breath, "Why?" she said looking at Beckett again. _

"_Why what?" _

"_Kate, why did you end it? I mean now you're- and was there really need to…to blow him off like that? Wait a second, how do you even know he's the father?" _

"_Excuse me!?" Kate shrieked. _

"_I mean he's not the only candidate-"_

"_There has never been a time in my life where I wished I could have one of those giant cream pies I could chuck at someone's face but you know there's definitely a first time for everything!" she half yelled. _

"_Calm down honey. I'm just saying…what about Josh?" she shrugged slowly and wrinkled her nose as though she was trying to avoid some sort of pain that was coming her way. _

"_I legitimately want to slap you right now," Beckett folded her arms across her chest and couldn't stop the smile that broke out across her face, "Well don't think I didn't think about that. I wouldn't just pin a kid on Castle if I didn't know for sure,"_

"_Well how do you know?" Lanie pushed her limits once more without fear. _

Beckett gave Lanie a certain look. It was as though they were having an entire conversation without saying a word, "You're an ME. You tell me. You know what? Don't. I really don't need to know how you think this works,"

"Well, Kate, believe it or not I _am_ a big girl. I know that when a man loves a woman-"

"Okay I'll tell you!" Beckett groaned with dissatisfaction, "Well when I said that it wasn't exactly working out with Josh, what did you think I meant?"

"Oh. My bad," Lanie replied sadly.

"And-" Kate was about to say something else but she stopped herself, lowering her voice, "I did the math,"

"Fair enough," Lanie gave a single nod in satisfaction of the answer. She stayed silent for a few moments for opening her mouth again. No sound came out when she saw the glare Kate was giving her. Closing her mouth as quickly as she could, her eyes widened and she held her hands up in surrender.

"What?' Beckett asked with an eye roll.

"Birth control," Lanie stated blankly as she lowered her hands. Beckett looked down, avoiding any eye contact whatsoever, out of guilt, "Kate," Lanie said with warning laced heavily in her tone.

"I ran out!" she shrieked suddenly.

"Ok no need to get so worked up," Lanie said, her eyes widening once more.

"I don't know maybe it's the hormones," she said lazily, "I get really mad for no reason sometimes. I'm really starting to scare myself Lanie,"

"What do you mean?" she asked without actually paying attention.

"You might not know this, but there was a brief period of time when I blamed my pregnancy on other people," she said sorrowfully.

"Believe me_ I_ know," Lanie muttered under her breath trying to flare Beckett up, "Sorry keep going,"

"There was one person whom I was determined to _kill_ because I thought that my pregnancy was her fault," she continued speaking in the same tone, unfazed by what Lanie had said, "I mean that in a nonliteral sense,"

"Who was it?" Lanie asked, now completely uninterested.

"My Pharmacist," she turned her face away, as though she couldn't bear to see Lanie's face.

"George?" Lanie asked. Lanie had known who Kate's pharmacist was for a very long time. Knowing the type of person George was, friendly and soft spoken, Lanie was suddenly intrigued as to how he might be involved in Kate's pregnancy.

"No. George is far too sweet for anyone to be mad at. Hormonal or not," Kate watched Lanie's eyes sink in disappointment as she became uninterested again, "My doctor wrote me a prescription for birth control that needed to be picked up at a different Pharmacy. So this isn't _my_ Pharmacist exactly," Beckett explained.

**. . .**

**Kate tells Lanie of a Day at the Pharmacy…**

I walked in through the automatic doors into this new Pharmacy which was actually really, well for lack of a better description, much better than mine. So I walk into this new, foreign and more sanitary than I had expected, Pharmacy. The clerk, if that's what you could call her, sat behind a desk at the back of the Pharmacy. I practically had to walk through a maze to find my way to there. When I got there, I was greeted in a…less than _pleasant _way.

Her name tag read Melissa-Jane. Her hair was a hazel, muddy brown kind of colour. She'd died the tips of with a purple die that caused her hair to become matted and dirty. Under any normal circumstances, she'd be a stereotypical murder suspect.

"Can I help you?" she looked up at me as I approached the desk. These weren't normal circumstances. I wasn't at work, I was at a Pharmacy…

"I'm just here to pick up a prescription," I answered her and tried to smile a smile that matched the one on her bright face.

"No worries," she said. As she spoke, I noticed she had a tongue piercing. Though her hair was matted and dirty, she still kept it out of her face with a head band. Her face was almost completely free of make up or any other kind of artificial enhancer, aside from the dark eye liner and mascara around her eyes. On the outside, she looked like a very untrustworthy person, but when she spoke, it was completely different.

This was the kind of thing that would make me say 'Shut the front door' back in the day. I drummed my fingers on the desk as she turned around and rummaged in the shelves behind her. She moved to top shelf under the letter B, which I assumed stood for Beckett. She was unusually short and now that I think about, considerably small in general. So when she reached for the high shelf, and touched the small package she wanted, of course she dropped it. That was almost a given considering the size of the poor girl.

As she cursed under her breath and reached down to pick up the box with her left hand, I noticed a ring that she wore across two of her fingers. It was a long metal cross, right in the middle of her hand. If she punched someone in the face, it would definitely leave an imprint, no matter how lightly she chose to punch them.

I watched as she slowly picked up the package, not bothering to pay attention to what the box actually said. She placed it on the desk and began filling out a form that said I had come to collect the prescription. She looked at the box and began reading and copying down the details and serial number.

That's when I noticed it.

She did a double take on the box. She looked at it once and then again, just to reassure herself of what she reading. I watched as her face slowly changed from bright and happy quickly to confusion and horror.

"These are birth control pills," she stated, picking up the box to get a closer look at it.

"Yeah," I said, holding my hand out so she could give them to me.

"That is totally unnatural!" she shrieked, "Completely against God's intention for us! You can't take these, I won't let you!"

"With all due respect and right now there isn't very much _due respect_, but this is none of your business," I stated with a frown as I tried to grab the box. Her hand jerked upwards, taunting me and holding the box away.

I reached over the desk and tried to grab it. If I had leant any further I would have fallen over to the other side.

"We were created with the purpose of procreation in mind. So I can't let you alter God's plan for this world. The universe is forever expanding and I won't let you stop it," she said as she took a step back from the counter.

"Are you a Catholic or something?" I asked as I too moved away from the desk, pulling my shirt down.

"Why yes I am and proud of it," she said with a bright smile. I gave her a sarcastic sweet smile and shrugged. She looked like anything _but_ the Religious type. I pursed my lips in thought of what to do with this quirky annoying girl. I was running late and I needed those pills.

I do have a gun…

Okay that's just a little too far, but she was really getting on my nerves. So, as a solution, without thinking at all, I thought that maybe I could get her off guard or at least take her by surprise. I lunged forward and reached for the box she still held in her left hand. Naturally, with the force I used to launch my body forward, I fell over the counter.

Instead of falling to the floor, I landed on top of Melissa-Jane in a heap. In an effort to get off her as soon as I could, I accidently scratched her arm.

She took this the wrong and squealed for security.

Assuming that they wouldn't allow me to take my pills in a civilised manor, I tried to grab them one more time.

"Give them to me!" I yelled. She still tried to keep them away from me and well I found myself in a little bit of a sticky situation.

"God loves us all! Every single one of your eggs too!" she yelled frantically.

"NYPD!" I found myself screaming without any reason. She tackled me and slapped my face before squealing one more time.

"Security!" she bellowed in a high pitch tone. By this time we had attracted an audience made up of just about every customer in Pharmacy at the time. Two men came in and pulled us apart, "She assaulted me," she stated as she straightened out her already messy hair.

"I what?" I yelled, "Look I wanted to do was collect my-"

I couldn't finish any sentence without her interrupting me. I pulled out my badge but that was completely pointless, I was practically banished from that place. With what she said about me, you'd think that people would expect me to start putting a red A on my wardrobe.

**. . . **

Beckett watched Lanie carefully waiting for her to stop laughing.

"You tackled the poor kid?" she said through loud fits of laughter.

"Not tackle…Well I mean she…" I put my hand against my forehead in shame.

"Oh you ain't blaming that on hormones girl," she sniffed and tried to regain her composure. Lanie just stop smiling and it was ticking Kate off. Eventually she cracked a smile and laughed too.

"Yeah. But really, no one is _that_ Religious! Maybe it was her fault I'm pregnant," Kate shrugged and laughed.

"Girl, you're not really basing this whole thing on that are you?" Lanie asked with a serious tone, she was still smirking slightly.

"What? Whether or not they're Castle's?" she asked. Kate sat down next to Lanie and looked down to the floor, "No. No I also took a paternity test,"

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**A/N**: Wow. Long chapter! Review please? BTW this chapter was meant to be weird/funny. It might only be funny for me and my friends because of the inside jokes but I know it will definitely be weird for you! Hope you enjoyed it Xx

**And Meldo (a.k.a Kick Caskett) I hope you enjoyed being the cause of Beckett's impromptu and somewhat unwanted pregnancy! HA! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to SezzaLuvBones for picking the best date ever for the start of this chapter! ;D Good things **_always_** happen on that day, don't they? Hmm there was something around 17 years ago that was good… LOL love you & this chapter is for you [= **

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own Castle

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**November 13****th **

Kate was now four months pregnant. She managed to somehow work her magic and she was now working at the Precinct again, but ever since what happened between her and Rick after he went to Connecticut, things haven't been the same. Beckett, being a "one and done kind of girl", everyone seemed to believe that the babies were Josh's. Technically, she wasn't lying because she hadn't actually told them that it was Josh's, they had all made their own assumptions. Every single one of them, except Lanie of course.

After all, what would they think? If they knew that the babies were Castle's and that he wasn't there for them. It wasn't his fault, it was hers. But everyone always takes the "mother's side" in these situations. It had been a while since she had seen Castle, but only a month or so since she spoke to him.

Everyone at the Precinct knew not to question why he had left. Ryan and Espo asked once and almost had their heads bitten of by Kate. Naturally, she blamed it on her hormones. That's how they found out about her pregnancy.

This fine morning on November 13th was even drearier than usual for Kate Beckett. Totally dreary until an unexpected thing happened, a familiar yell startled her and caused her to look towards the Precinct's elevator in surprise.

"Yo! My man!" she heard Esposito yell out before particularly running to the elevator like a child. She hadn't yet seen who was at the elevator and decided to ignore it. Standing up from her desk and walking towards the murder board, she popped the cap off a white board marker and began writing a small summary underneath a suspect's photo.

Sure, she could no longer say that this day was like any other but, things could never be the same without-

"Castle!" Beckett's thoughts were interrupted by Ryan greeting someone by the name that she knew all too well.

Whilst she was in the middle of writing a sentence, Kate froze. She brought herself back to reality soon enough to stop herself from dropping the marker. She put the marker down ad slowly turned around to face the direction of the elevator.

She narrowed her eyes at the man who was practically strutting down the bullpen towards her. She stood still, almost in awe at the fact that he could just waltz in after 4 months and act like he owns the place.

"Kate, I have to talk to you," he said when he was close enough to her. Before she could do or say anything, he held her face in his hands and kissed her. It was as though he had been starved for affection of any kind, for about 4 months.

They pulled apart each other and ignored the wolf whistles that were obviously coming from Javi. As corny as it sounded, Beckett felt like time had stopped. It was like she was back in high school with a high school crush.

But time started moving again when Castle cleared his throat and looked down at Beckett's abdomen. Kate fell backward a step with surprise and embarrassment.

"Uhh…Have you gained weight?" Castle blurted before he could stop himself. His hand flew to his mouth immediately trying to stop the words from flying right out of his mouth, but it was too late. His eyes widened and he flinched, expecting some sort of physical punishment from Beckett in response.

When she didn't slap him, he slowly opened his eyes to see her looking down at her stomach. She looked back up at him and frowned in anger at what he had just said.

"Oooooooh," they both looked over to Ryan and Espo, who had been watching the whole ordeal play out, "That was low bro," Espo called out to him.

"Hormones," Ryan mouthed, subtly pointing to Kate, who put her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"Guys, I'm standing right here," she said. With that, Ryan and Esposito looked down and walked away in shame, giving Castle hand signals for "Good Luck" when they thought Beckett wasn't looking.

Once they had left, she turned back to Castle, who still hadn't picked up on what Ryan meant when he had mouthed the word "hormones". She grabbed his arm and yanked it in the direction of the elevator.

"What are you doing?" he said as she powerwalked to the elevator.

"We're going for a walk," she said sternly, taking a deep breath before pushing the elevator button. She walked in and turned around, only to catch practically everyone watching them as the doors closed.

Rick turned to face her. It was evident she was trying to avoid him seeing her face. He felt like he was being shut out, but he soon figured out why she wouldn't look at him.

She was crying.

Tears were quickly welling up in her eyes. She refused to blink, anything to avoid the tears from falling. Beckett took another deep breath. The doors opened and Beckett walked ahead of Castle. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and turned to face him again.

"Kate, I-"

"Don't. You cannot just waltz in to the Precinct and do what you just did, ok? You can't expect us to pick up where we left off," she said. Beckett began walking and Castle caught up to her and started walking beside her.

"So that's not what you want?" he said. It was as though he was stating a point but asking a question all at the same time. She didn't know how to respond to that.

"That's not the point. You cannot do what you did Castle. Have I gained weight!?" she half yelled.

"About that, I am sorry-"

"You don't get to call the shots! _I_ say when we need to talk ok?" her gaze went from the pathway to Rick's face. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Ok," he squeaked in surrender. Kate breathed out as though she was holding her breath that entire conversation.

"Having said that," she looked down to the floor again, "We need to talk,"

"About…hormones?" he hesitantly asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Kate rolled her eyes and half smiled at his maturity. As always, she felt no need to beat around the bush, so she stopped walking and turned to Castle. He did the same and cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

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It was as though he had turned to stone. Earlier, she felt like a school girl. Now he looked like a school boy, caught in an indecent act.

"I-But we…Me? I mean you-"

"With yours! God, Rick what am I? Some kind of tramp?" she frowned.

"I'm sorry but," he was trying desperately not to make her mad," We only did it once," he said slowly.

"Where were _you_ in Science Class? I'm pretty sure that's all it takes," she cocked an eyebrow and started walking again, "I guess you should be proud in some way,"

He tried to breathe and let this new information digest, "Wow. That was just, right up in my face," he said.

"Yeah," she replied, not knowing what to say at this point, fearing the worst kind of reaction from him.

"My nose, it feels like…Play-Doh," he said in awe. Kate watched him closely, waiting to see if he was going to run or not. She watched as his face brightened from shock to awe to happiness, "We're having a baby," he stated.

"Actually…we're not," she answered, appearing extremely guilty.

"What are you talking about?" he immediately flared up and started arguing, "You're not doing this to me! You can't keep me out of my child's life! I will be there for the both of you no matter what you try to do. I don't care if you get a restraining order _for both_ of you-"

"No see that's the thing-" she tried to interject but he kept going.

"You can't ask me to stay away from you Kate. Not after Connecticut-"

"Castle, shut up!" she stood in front of him and lightly swatted his face to try and stop him from rambling, "I'm not trying to keep you away from the _both_ of us. I'm telling you to be there for _the three of us_,"

"W-What?" he said, tilting his head to the side like a confused dog. His eyes widened when he finally realised what Beckett meant.

Kate laughed, it was like she could almost see the light bulb go off in his head. He looked at her and pointed to her belly.

"Twins? You're pregnant with…twins? Holy crap," he said as he ran one hand through his hair.

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A/N: **I AM ABSOLUTELY SICK & TIRED** …of how sad this story is! :P I've decided that the time has come and I am now including Caskett in this story… I'm just feeling very happy right now and I want to write. I hope that at least some people out there are still reading this story. When I finish this I have plans for a new story. Also, apologies for the crappy chapter (Chapter 11). It was for Kick Caskett and I don't think she liked it. Sad. I felt bad about that chapter so I'm updating this one as soon as I can to make up for it.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Even if it was bad. Was it bad? God, I hope not! R&R Thanks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own Anything to do with Castle. But Season 4 is mine to own on DVD! Yay, thank you Kick Caskett!

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_**November 13th**_

"Fred," Rick said out of boredom. They were at his loft. She was lying on the couch, resting her feet, while he was sitting upright next to her. They had decided to search baby names, but hadn't assumed it would take this long.

"No," she said bluntly.

"George?" he pestered as a joke.

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically. She was staring up at the ceiling from where her head lay on the couch. Kate lifted her neck and attempted to look at Rick's face without getting up. Eventually she gave up and flopped her head backwards.

"What?" he said, adjusting the cushions behind him. He opened up his laptop, which was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He figured the internet might bring in some new inspiration.

"Fluff this," she said, yanking the pillow she was lying down on from behind her head and throwing it towards him, "It's perfect," she shrugged her shoulders.

"What Fred and George?" he asked as he handed the pillow back to her.

"No. Marco and Polo," she said with a smirk, "But we don't know if they're boys or not," Kate pouted.

"We are _never_ going to find any good names for them," he replied, folding his arms across his chest and shutting his laptop lid.

"Relax Castle we have 5 months," she began twirling a few strands of hair as she stared into space intently.

"Technically we're already behind! I mean we just got back together and we have no plans whatsoever," he said with frustration lacing his tone. Kate sat up in place and moved over to sit next to him. She rested her head against his chest in fatigue.

"I'm sleepy," she said lazily before lightly yawning. Castle rested his chin lightly on her hair and waited for her to stop knuckling her eyes before he spoke.

I missed you," he said quietly into her hair, "You don't know what it was like without you. And for that long too. Let me tell you, it was awful," he said, still not lifting his head from her hair, "I'm sorry, Kate. I'm sorry for everything that you've been through because of me. Especially after Connecticut. Boy that was a mess," he sighed, "I know you found the engagement ring. I was going to propose to you but I was-I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. And Joe was no help at all," he chuckled before continuing his long speech. Much to his surprise, Kate remained silent throughout the whole thing, "I never got rid of it though. The ring I mean. I kept it. I guess all I can do is dream right? Don't worry this isn't some twisted proposal, that's just insane. But I thought maybe, with the babies coming and everything, maybe you could move in?" he closed his eyes in anticipation of a rejection. He waited a few more moments, but still nothing, "Kate?" he lifted his head off hers and looked down at her.

Her breathing was even and quiet. She had fallen asleep. Rick rolled his eyes in annoyance and smiled at how cute she was.

She was cute…for about five minutes until he needed to get up. Trying to shimmy his way off the couch without disturbing her, he picked up the pillow from the other side of the couch. The he carefully slid the pillow between his chest and Beckett's head, trying to replace his body with the fluffiness of the pillow.

She stirred and he froze. Whimpering as she made herself more comfortable, Beckett wound up pinning Castle against the couch.

He groaned and sat back in surrender.

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Kate woke up with a start. She jumped as her eyes quirked open and she slowly began realising where she was. She sat up and frowned, turning around to look at Rick. She had been lying on a pillow in his lap and he had fallen asleep with her there. What were they talking about before she fell asleep?

"Baby names," she chuckled to herself.

"What?" he said groggily as he too woke up.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you," she replied, standing up off the couch and tousling her hair, "What time is it?"

"6…Thirty…2?" he said in broken sentence fragments.

"Crap," she said casually, "Bloody case,"

"What?"

"Nothing, I have a case. You want to help?" she asked once she was done tying her hair up.

"Not really," he replied while stretching his arms out and throwing the pillow to the other side of the couch.

"I don't want to go to work," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "Can't even go out into the field," she said with mild annoyance.

"What? Why not?" he asked.

Without saying anything, Beckett made one arm gesture to her expanding belly and then the rest of her body, before sitting back down again.

"Do you have to go?" he asked as he nudged her shoulder with his head. She chortled and looked down to the floor. Looking back into his eyes she slowly shook her head as he leaned in and kissed her.

"No that's a lie, I do," she said with a sigh.

"Really?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Yes!" she stood up and pulled her shirt down before putting her shoes on, "I expect you to have some reasonable baby name choices when I get home,' she said as she grabbed her bag and walked to the door.

"Home?" he repeated. She stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Sorry you know what I mean. I meant I'll be coming back _here_," she said with embarrassment. She turned around and took two more steps to the door.

"But what if-"

She stopped walking and turned around, "Yes Rick?"

"Come and live here," he said bluntly.

"Are you drunk again?"

"What? No," he said, trying to hide the hurt in his tone.

"I was kidding, I'm sorry," she said, walking back towards him and kissing his cheek.

"Think about it please? It's the only logical thing to do now that you're pregnant," he said shrugging.

"Oh is that the only reason?" she laughed.

"No. I just- I don't know but…Will you?" he asked again. She looked to the floor and pondered everything he had just said.

"Ok," she said simply before turning and leaving, "Baby names," Castle heard her say in a muffled blur behind the closed door.

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A/N: Well? I have no idea about this chapter! Please tell me what you think :/ Xx


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Okay, so after watching After the Storm, I don't know what to say. My FF will never match up… It was barely good enough before, now it's definitely not good enough! After the freaking Storm WAS mother freaking AWESOME! *Screaming*

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own Castle.

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_**December 12**__**th**__**- **_Castle's Loft, 3.56am.

Richard Castle awoke to the feeling of someone shaking him frantically. He slowly opened his eyes to the sight of bright light, something he couldn't handle in his sleep deprived state.

"Rick wake up!" Kate yelled as she shook him violently, "Wake up!"

"Whoa, what? What's wrong?" he asked, knuckling his eyes, "Where are we?"

With that, Beckett took one swift slap across his shoulder, which was more painful to him than she had anticipated.

"Ow, please don't do that," he said softly as he gradually managed to open his eyes. Once, she knew that he was awake, Kate sat up in bed and crossed her legs like a child, "What's wrong?" he asked once more.

"I am…_starving_," she said with flourish and emphasis.

"Ok let's go and get something to eat," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders, "Wait what time is it? Hey wait, you stayed over last night. What the hell is the time!?"

"Calm down, its only four. Now listen to me. I'm having cravings and this isn't new to me but it'll probably be new to you so all you have to do is go and get me chicken nuggets with sauce," she said enthusiastically.

"Four? As in AM? As in the sun isn't even up yet, four!?" he shrieked.

"Be quiet, you'll wake everyone up,"

"_You_ woke _me_ up," he said with annoyance.

"That's because when we weren't together, going to the 24 hour Mickey D's on my own was boring as hell. That's why it made sense to bring someone with me," after listening to everything she had just said, Kate tilted her head to one side, "Wow, I feel like my IQ has just dropped 5 points. Maybe I'm just tired," she brushed it off and yanked onto his hand to get out of bed.

"So we're actually doing this? Its 4am and we're in our pyjamas,"

"Yep. Damn, I only have slippers. Have you got a spare robe by any chance?" she looked from the floor to Castle's shocked and confused face.

"Yeah…," he said after about a minute, "Yeah, check my closet,"

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They both walked into McDonald's, Beckett grasping Castle's arm for dear life.

"Do they seel nuggets at this time?" he asked sceptically.

"They damn well better," she replied, letting go of his arm and walking promptly towards the counter. She placed her order and beckoned Castle over to pay for it. Only two minutes later, their order was ready and they were sitting down at a table with a six pack of nuggets.

At first, Rick didn't notice sauce she had chosen, and quite frankly, he didn't care, until she offered him a nugget.

"Want one?" she said, shoving the nugget in his face and holding up a small container of sauce. He looked down at the sauce and frowned.

"What is that?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"Chocolate sauce," she said with a smile, before taking the nugget she was offering him and dunking it into the container of sauce.

"Ah!?" he was totally speechless.

"Well, I'm done," she said simply, completely ignoring his mortified expression. He looked down at how many nuggets she had left. 4. She had only eaten 2 out of 6 nuggets with chocolate sauce.

"I um…I _think_…that sauce was meant for sundaes," he said gently.

"Yeah and?" she said as she stood up to take her rubbish to the trash. He followed her to the car and tried not to bring up anymore cravings issues on their way home.

"Okay so what do you think of the name Jerry and Ian for boys?" he asked out of the blue.

"Jerry? Like Tyson?" she asked, turning to face him. He made a face, he had actually forgotten about the triple killer, "How could you forget?" she continued with extreme surprise. "What if we have girls?" she said through a yawn adjusting her seta to a more comfortable position.

"Ok," he said wrinkling his nose, "I've got nothing," he said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"How about Nate?" she sniggered.

"As in Nathaniel or something?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"As in Nathan," she almost laughed.

"Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief, "Yeah and the next thing you know, we'll be naming the other one Stanley,"

"Yeah," she said dreamily, "Stan… Lee," she said slowly before shutting her eyes completely and falling asleep.

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_**December 12**__**th**___– Decent Hours of the morning…

Kate woke up and turned to where the source of noise was coming from. Castle was already awake and twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Hey what's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"We have a doctor's appointment today," he replied without looking at her.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" her voice grew deeper with concern. She placed her hand on top of his, trying to soothe him.

"I don't know why but the appointments make me nervous," he said with embarrassment splayed right across his face.

"Could it be because of what happened at our last appointment? With the…complications," she stopped talking and looked away, "Hey, I've been taking it easy, so I'm sure everything is fine," she said with a reassuring nod.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it at the appointment. Sorry you had to wake up to this," he said with a smirk.

"It's not as bad as you think. Where did this come from anyway? You haven't mentioned anything for weeks," she said as she got out of bed. He followed suit and met her at the door. Opening it cautiously, he walked out before Kate.

"Mother!" he called out before allowing Kate to leave.

"Rick, she knows I stayed over. This has been going on for a while now, I think she might have the slightest clue of what we do together because my being fat isn't a dead give-away or anything," she said sarcastically.

'I'm not worried about being embarrassed _by_ you. I'm concerned about being embarrassed in front of you _by her_," he walked out to the kitchen and began making breakfast.

"I'm not sure if I want to know what that means," she muttered under her breath, "Well where could she have gone?"

Without saying anything, Castle turned around and gave Beckett a certain look causing her to sit down and raise her arms in surrender. He took a deep breath and sighed loudly, "I can't get my mind off this appointment,"

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**SezzaLuvBones & Kick Caskett**, the little naming thing in the car was just for you guys.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: Castle is not mine

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"Hey you want to speed it up a little bit?" Kate said as Castle drove her to the doctor's appointment.

"No, I am carrying precious cargo and I don't want to exhort you for no reason after what the doctor told us,"

"I'm getting the test results from my last blood test today," she guiltily.

"What?" he slammed the brakes to hard and jerked the car forward while they were at the traffic lights.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be nervous about it anyway. I don't need you to be worrying unnecessarily about the babies when nothing may be wrong at all,"

"There _is_ a reason to worry Kate! He's given us two risks that are a great possibility for my children. Premature birth or Miscarriage," he yelled. Just as Kate was about to yell her rebuttal, she was interrupted by the honking from the car behind them. He took his foot off the brake pedal and started driving at an incredibly low speed.

"I don't need you yelling that out to me. Whether you believe it or not, I _do_ care about the safety of _our_ children. I care about-" before she could finish her sentence, her voice broke and she felt her face go red with heat and anger. She was now yelling so loudly, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears, "I have bee-"

She stopped abruptly and grabbed her stomach in fright.

"What? What is it?" he asked in calm, yet concerned voice. He stared at Beckett and waited for her to respond. "Tell me what's wrong. Where does it hurt?" he asked, searching her facial expression for some sort of clue as to what she was feeling. He expected to see fear or pain but instead he saw happiness in her eyes.

"They kicked," she said softly, her lips curving into a half smile, "One of them…kicked," she repeated.

"Really?" he asked, turning and parking the car as quickly as he could.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He swerved and stopped the car onto the nearest pathway, "That's a pedestrian sidewalk. Are you _trying_ to get arrested?"

Without saying anything, he took his seatbelt off and leant down and put his ear against her stomach. When he couldn't feel anything, he raised his head and slowly turned to face her, only inches distancing their faces from each other.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I know you care. I shouldn't have brought it up like that, it was totally insensitive of me,"

"As romantic as you're trying to be right now, it's not working because they're kicking again," she said with a smile.

"What?" he immediately dropped his head down and tried to feel a kick again.

"Here," she shoved his head aside, grabbed his hand and put it on the side of her abdomen.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling anything, are you?" he asked with a pout.

"If _I_ was feeling it, _you_ would be too," she rolled her eyes. With that, he put his seatbelt back on and drove off the sidewalk, "We're late," she said with sarcastic delight.

"Well why did you pick a Doctor that was so damn far away?" he snapped.

"Are you trying to stress me out by yelling at me?" she asked with sadness, "I _do_ have gun," she joked trying to lighten the mood.

"There you go again with your threats," he replied.

"Oh my God. Are you serious? I was only joking,"

"Are _you_ serious in asking me whether or not _I'm_ serious? When was the last time I was ever serious?" he scoffed.

"I can't tell if we're fighting anymore," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah I don't even know anymore. You wanna stop?" he asked, turning to look at her.

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As they quickly paced towards the receptionist's desk, Beckett tried not to laugh at Castle's baby names again. The receptionist dismissed their late arrival and told them to have a seat while the doctor waited.

"Oh God," he said suddenly when they finally found a seat, "I've got it," he said brightly.

"Really? You've got it?" she asked sarcastically as she picked a magazine.

"Sid and-"

"Do not say Nancy, Castle," she blurted.

"But it's perfect. It's a boy _and a_ girl. This means that we're prepared for either set of twins we get. Two boys and one of them can be named Sid,"

"I don't want to name my kids after someone who was murdered and after her murderer who also died…_from a drug overdose_,"

"But it still a touching story of romance,"

"No. It wasn't. Next thing I know, you're going to be asking me if we can name them Oscar and Felix," she chortled.

"Are you kidding? No way. If anything, it would be Lois and Clark,"

"Lancelot and Guinevere?" she rolled her eyes, "No. I just think that we should name them something ordinary," she cocked an eyebrow in trying to figure out whether or not her sentence made sense.

"I have absolutely no idea what that means," they heard their names called and stood up from their seats.

"I mean we should give them names that don't mean something specific or names that aren't sentimental to us in any way," she replied, walking ahead of him.

"But that's so boring. Why would you want to do that?" he whined.

"Well if we did have more kids," she stood outside the doctor's office door, "We wouldn't want half the family to have 'special' names and the other half to have something that we picked out from a baby name book," she said using one hand to create air quotes.

"You make a point. Hey wait, did you say _more_ kids?" he asked. Before he could get a reply, she turned around and walked into the office.

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As they exited the Doctor's office, Castle breathed several sighs of relief.

"See? No blood condition is going to force me to give birth to my children early," Beckett said semi reassuringly.

"I know," he paused and they walked in silence for a few moments. When they finally arrived at his car, he walked around to her door.

"I've told you once, I will tell you again, you don't have to open the door for me," she laughed. He pulled her closer to him.

"Thank you," he said quietly. She gave him a questioning look, "For being so careful and for putting up with my distress and for everything I've put you through,"

"Where's this coming from?" she asked with confusion.

"This right here," he held her expanded abdomen, "This is _my_ fault,"

"It's nobody's _fault _first of all and it takes two to tango Rick," she kissed him on the cheek and got into the car. He jogged around to the other side and started the engine before putting his seatbelt on.

"I'm just so happy about this. Just because he gave us the all clear, does not mean that I won't be driving at 12 k's an hour," he said with a smile.

"Well if it makes you feel better, no that we know for sure that one is a boy and the other is a girl, I will consider naming them Sid and Nancy," she winked and he reversed out of the parking lot.

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**A/N:** I am _exhausted._ Hope it wasn't _too_ bad. Xx


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: "I ain't afraid a' no ghosts." I mean…No, I do not own Castle.

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_**January 19**__**th**_

Kate stood in front of her desk at the Precinct and bent over as far as her expanded stomach would allow. When she had finally reached what she was trying to retrieve, Kate stood upright again, only to be greeted with an unfamiliar hand closing in close to her pregnant belly.

"Touch my stomach and you will be pulling back a bloody stump," she said sternly without looking up to see who it was.

"Oh Motherhood, how it changes every woman…for the worse," a now familiar voice spoke up. Beckett slowly looked up, her eyes widened when she realised who she was talking to.

"Oh, Martha. I'm so sorry! I'm just so tired of people I don't even know half the time just getting up there and grabbing my stomach without even a moment's notice. I mean, I've been trying to keep myself calm because of the…well you know. But I am so sorry, did you still want to…Or would that be awkward? It would, wouldn't it? I'm sorry-"

"Ok, just relax darling and stop apologising. I just came in to see if Richard was here," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. At hearing Castle's name attached to a sentence that involved not knowing his whereabouts, Beckett thought back to when he had disappeared off to Connecticut. She grabbed her stomach in shock and rested her other hand against her desk.

"You don't know where he is?" she asked in a panicked tone.

"Well yes I do know where he is. I called him and he told me he was on his way here. I guess I got here before he did," Martha shrugged, not realising that Kate had panicked unnecessarily. She sat down in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Martha asked. Beckett forced a nod and pointed towards Castle, who had just arrived at the Precinct.

"I'm fine," Beckett said with aggravation. She tried to stand up. Unable to stand for longer than 5 seconds, Beckett collapsed back into her chair, clutching her stomach for dear life. At noticing this, Castle immediately jogged towards her to check if she was ok.

"What happened?" he asked quickly. Beckett groaned and looked down at her stomach.

"It's probably just stomach cramps," she said calmly, her hand still resting on her stomach, "Or contractions," she muttered under her breath. Though she did believe that she was in labour, she needed to stay calm and keep everyone around her calm as well, for the benefit of the children.

"Yes and this is probably just a _food baby_. No, we're going to the hospital," Martha said frantically, linking her arm in one of Beckett's as support.

"They could be contractions," Castle said as he grabbed her other arm. Kate frowned, agreeing to be driven to the hospital, but still trying to put on a brave face.

There it was again. The emotion she knew all too well by this point in her life. _Fear_.

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"You know having everyone stare at us like we're mentally ill doesn't help with this situation right here," Castle yelled to the nurses who were sitting and literally staring at all of them.

"We're sorry, we'll get out of your hair," Martha said before he could go any further with his yelling. Kate relaxed her shoulders and looked down in embarrassment.

"How could I not realise they were Braxton Hicks contractions? They weren't even painful," she said, her cheeks blushing crimson.

"It's fine darling, it happens to all of us," Martha tried to comfort as they walked out of the hospital.

"Did it happen to you?" Kate asked hopefully. Martha avoided eye contact and changed the subject immediately.

"Why do you think it happened?" Castle asked suddenly. Now it was Kate's turn to avoid everyone's eye contact, "Kate," Castle said with warning.

"Ok, I got a little worried when Martha said that she wanted to speak to you. But it's not your fault Martha; I took things out of context and blew everything way out of proportion,"

"God, that's the reason? I'm so sorry," Martha said.

"You need to calm down more, in fact I don't even know why you're still _at _work," Castle said with annoyance, "Not being on the field does matter but Kate, they call it _maternity leave_ for a reason,"

"Castle I-"

"No excuses, you're not going in to work," he said sternly, "I'm only saying this because-"

"You care, I know," Kate rolled her eyes and got into the car.

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As soon as they had gotten to Castle's loft, he opened the door as quickly as he possibly could and let Beckett inside.

"Thank you," her voice faded as she ran to the bathroom.

"Richard, when a pregnant woman says she has to go, believe me, _she has to go,_" Martha said as she entered the loft, "The babies must be putting a great deal of pressure on her bladder,"

"That's gross, but I get it," he said slowly, holding his hands up in surrender as he closed the loft door.

"_Have_ you thought about this though?" Martha asked as they sat next to one another on the couch.

"What do you mean?" he asked, moving around and making himself comfortable.

"Have you thought about what happens after the babies are born?" she was persistent in getting to the bottom of what their relationship status really was.

"Well there was the move in," he said slowly.

"What if that isn't enough Richard? Is that what you're really starting a family with? _Moving in together? Going steady?"_ she asked sarcastically.

"Whoa where is this coming from? You're not talking marriage are you?" he asked quickly.

"Believe me I know how you feel about that," Martha replied with an eye roll.

"What about Beckett? What about how she feels about this?" he said in a hushed tone, as not to arouse Kate's suspicions.

"You'll never know until you ask," Martha said in a whisper.

"As I have always said, the thought of marriage fills me with an impending sense of doom," he sat back in his seat and his face lit up, as though he was realising something, "But the thought of being married to Kate…" he trailed off.

"What are you going to do?" Martha said suddenly, interrupting his thought process.

"I don't know. I mean what if I push her away. What if this is like her shooting all over again?"

"What do you mean?" Martha frowned.

"I mean, what if she isn't ready for this?" he shook his head in sadness.

"Are you?"

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**A/N**: If you like Kick Caskett's FF's then you should all follow KickCaskett on Twitter. Kick, if you're reading this, then I have a few suggestions for your fics in relation to Twitter ;) (Hint: Give readers sneak peeks for new chapters in Tweets)

HOORAH FOR QUICK UPDATES!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own Castle

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"What if I told you that the only reason you _are_ still at the Precinct _was_ because of your charm and ruggedly handsome looks?" Beckett asked with a grin. She was trying her almighty hardest not to snigger. Martha had left the loft and they were both lying lazily on Castle's bed trying to find reasons why they shouldn't get up and go to work, aside from the obvious reason that is laziness. It had all been small talk until they actually started thinking about the fact that everyone knew they were in a relationship, yet somehow they had dodged the bullet and were still working together.

"I'd ask you if you were serious or if you were lying," he replied, "Wait. What _is _the real reason? You think Gates is finally starting to like me?"

"Yeah Castle. I mean you know, you got me pregnant. I'm one of the best Homicide Detectives at the Twelfth, but because of you,_ I_ can't go out onto the field. I think you have _definitely_ made her Christmas list," she laughed.

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm. But now I'm actually curious," he sat up and scratched his head in inquisitiveness. He had just waltzed into the Precinct and no one had really said a word. What was that about? He wasn't exactly prepared to spend his days without Beckett but he wasn't expecting to get off Scott free. Especially after what he had done to Gates' scary collectable doll. Well, two of them actually. Yikes, that was bad.

"Maybe we should count it as luck and let it go. I mean I'm not going to be working much longer anyway, I'm literally just fat enough to pop any minute now," Beckett said as she held her stomach and slowly sat up to be at eye level with Castle, "Ahh. I have a kink in my neck," she sighed and gently rubbed her neck.

"Turn around, I'll give you a massage," he sat behind her and continued to ponder the reasoning behind why he was still at the Precinct, "Co-workers. Partners. Me and you," he mused. Beckett crossed her legs and sat still, trying to relax her neck.

"Are you supposed to be making sense right now?" Beckett asked. She placed her hands down on her lap and stared at them, "God, even my fingers are fatter. Look," she held her left hand up for him to see. The first thing he seemed to notice was the fact that it was bare, not fat. He stared long fully at her ring finger.

"Uh-h I'm not ready for this," he said quickly. Unconsciously, he started to squeeze her neck harder.

"Ow," she pulled away from him, "What?"

"Oh, sorry," he physically cringed and rubbed his temples with one hand, out of stress. "Sorry. No I just have some things on my mind right now,"

"Gates can't be getting to you that much can she?" she asked, still rubbing her now sore neck.

"No, I'm just thinking about something Mother said. I don't want to worry you," he looked down at her stomach. She followed suit before replying. She soon figured that he was hiding it form her to avoid her going in to labour.

"This isn't going to stress me out is it? You do realise that telling me that there _is_ something and then keeping me in the dark about it is _even worse_ than actually telling me what it is, right?" she somehow managed to speak without breaking eye contact or taking a breath between words.

"I…I don't know…" he said slowly, not having fully comprehended what she had just said. Beckett shook her head and smiled, turning around and holding her hair off to one said, revealing her neck to him, indicating that he should start his neck rub for a second time.

"I should just ignore it, shouldn't I?" he said quietly.

"I don't know what Martha said, so I can't really be the judge of that Castle,"

"No, I'm talking about Gates. Keep up," he said with a smile, not that she actually saw it.

"In that case, yes, you should ignore it," she turned to her right slightly, so she could almost see his face. "So, what did Martha say?"

"She was just talking to me about the future. About _our_ future," he said slowly and cautiously.

"She _is_ okay with us moving in together, right?" Beckett turned around to face him.

"Yes, of course. She wanted to move out anyway. She was pointing out the fact that I'm treating you like my girlfriend," he turned her around and continued to rub her neck.

"I hate to burst your bubble but I _am_-" before she could finish her sentence, Castle set off on a crazy rant. He began rambling things that sounded like total nonsense.

"I'm not _doing_ anything. We're not moving anywhere. I mean metaphorically, we're not moving forward. I'm treating this situation like I'm young and reckless. I have no fall back or safety net, I have no plans for what happens after the babies are born," Kate pulled herself away from him and turned around, so they would be face to face. When she looked at him, he was looking downwards in shame. She cradled his face in her hands and forced him to make eye contact.

"Hey," she said gently, "Where is this coming from?"

"I told you. Mother brought it up… and that's exactly my point! Why have I not thought about this already?" he furrowed his brow in frustration.

"Listen to me when I say this: We will be fine. No, we'll be better than fine, we're going to be great. You're already a great father to Alexis, and if anyone should be worried, it's me. We have _enough_. You _are_ enough,"

"I love you, Kate. What if that _isn't_ enough?" he tried to smile and put on a brave face. She squeezed his cheek as though she was talking to a child, wrinkling her nose to make him smile. He grabbed her hand and pushed it away in a playful fashion.

She gasped and her eyes grew wide when he touched her. "What? Did I grab you too hard?" he chuckled and smirked in disbelief. But then he stopped laughing when he saw how serious her expression was.

Without answering, she looked down at her crossed legs.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down as well, though he couldn't figure out what she was looking at.

"My water just broke,"

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**A/N:** Hey Guys, follow me on Twitter Yosh_Wijeyesing

With this chapter, I was trying to make Castle stressed in order to keep up with the theme/title "A Duke In Distress"

Let me know what you thought Xx


	18. Final Chapter & Epilogue

**Warning: **Final Chapter ahead**. **This may look like a really long exhausting Chapter to read but it is supposed to act as a Final Chapter and I guess an Epilogue combined**. **There will be a lot of flash forwards in this chapter. XXX will mean that we are moving from present time to flash forward (which is supposed to be the Epilogue I guess). Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: Castle is not mine.

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_**January 19**__**th**__- 7.43pm Beckett in Labour_

"_I love you, Kate. What if that isn't enough?" he tried to smile and put on a brave face. She squeezed his cheek as though she was talking to a child, wrinkling her nose to make him smile. He grabbed her hand and pushed it away in a playful fashion. _

_She gasped and her eyes grew wide when he touched her. "What? Did I grab you too hard?" he chuckled and smirked in disbelief. But then he stopped laughing when he saw how serious her expression was._

_Without answering, she looked down at her crossed legs. _

"_What is it?" he asked, looking down as well, though he couldn't figure out what she was looking at. _

"_My water just broke,"_

"What!? Are you sure?" Castle looked at her; his face had gone white with shock.

"_No_, I involuntarily soil myself on a regular basis!" she yelled sarcastically, "What do _you _think?"

"Ew, it feels like you wet your pants?" he asked with confusion. Kate screamed in pain and started breathing heavily.

"You want to know what a contraction feels like?" she yelled, holding up a clench fist and threatening to inflict pain on him in some way.

"Ok, sorry! Hospital!" he shrieked. Jumping off the bed, Castle helped Beckett start walking towards the car, grabbing his keys as he went, "I gotta call everyone," he said with excitement as Beckett reminded him she was in labour by unintentionally grabbing his arm in pain.

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When they arrived at the hospital, Rick was sweating with panic and trying his best not to freak out before the babies were actually born. The nurse got Beckett into a gown and made her lie down in her bed, waiting until she was fully dilated. Castle sat by her bed and kept her company. It almost appeared as though she had a stressed out look on her face and he had a permanently distressed look on his to match.

"I've called Alexis, Mother, Lanie and the boys. I'm getting around to calling your dad now. I would have done it earlier but I didn't have his number and you were…otherwise preoccupied," Castle, holding her phone up to copy Jim's number down. Kate took a deep breath in to keep herself calm.

"Do you know when they're coming?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly when Alexis and Mother will get here. Lanie and the boys couldn't leave work, Gates." he said bluntly. "But when they get here, I don't know how long they can stay, mostly just because of College."

"That's fine, I'm sure we're fine. Castle, I need to keep busy with something," she said.

"The nurse said it could be hours before you're ready to…" he started making elaborate hand movements, waving his arms around in strange motions. Beckett rolled her eyes and turned away to hide her smile.

"It's a perfectly natural thing Castle. I'd like to think that when I-" she abruptly stopped talking and tried to hide the pain she was in from another contraction.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his brow furrowing in worry once more. Beckett nodded and let the pain pass, "What's the time? I'm going to get some coffee," he stood up and looked back at Kate before leaving the room. She gave him a reassuring smile.

XXX

_January 20th- __**1 Year later…**_

"As beautiful as this sounds, I just have to interject really quickly," Kate said. Castle stopped talking and looked at her blankly.

"What?" he asked quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping baby in his arms. He looked down at his daughter, who was lightly snoring.

"Aren't they a little young for this part?" she asked. She stood by the door of the children's Nursery and watched as Castle told the children a bedtime story, in attempt to get them to sleep. He had decided to tell them the story of how he and Beckett came together. The kids were asleep by the time he had finished discussing his 'kidnapping.'

"They're too young for the entire story. Come on, they're barely a year old yet," he whispered, peering at the cot that held his son.

"Actually, they just turned One," Kate whispered, pointing at the clock that read 12.57am. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Slipped my mind," he said, slowly moving towards the wide shared crib and placing his daughter next to her brother.

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_**January 19**__**th **__**– **__9.03pm____Beckett in Labour_

"Rumour has it-" Castle tried to finish his sentence before Beckett's next contraction. He was starting to scare himself with how well he was predicting them now.

"Yeah, gossip isn't distracting me anymore," Beckett's eyes were shut tightly. She groaned in pain. She grabbed Castle's hand and cut off his blood circulation with how hard she was squeezing.

"I feel so helpless," he said sadly. Kate looked at him and let go of his arm at once.

"Sorry," she said.

"No it's the least I could do. Okay, we need to stop and think about this. You're having the babies," Castle spoke slowly and with a serious face.

"Well that explains the stomach ache," Beckett dropped the magazine that Castle had brought for her to read an hour ago.

"I still don't feel like putting the Nursery in my guest bedroom is appropriate. I mean what about the guests?" as he spoke, his voice went an octave higher by the end of his sentence.

"We're not going to be having any guests for another 18 years," Beckett scoffed and picked the magazine up again, though she wasn't going to read it. "Besides, it's not like we're going to be living there forever. We're going to have to get our own place eventually,"

XXX

_January 20__th_ - _**3 years later**_

"How about for your birthday, we buy you a house?" Castle asked Julie, who was sitting on his lap.

"No!" she said with a smile. The four were waiting in their relator's office, until the realtor finally arrived. They had gone out for ice cream and games for the kid's birthday and were now looking for a new house to move in to.

"A big one?" Andy asked excitedly.

"Huge," Castle egged the children on. Beckett was looking extremely agitated at the fact that the realtor was late for their appointment.

"This is getting really frustrating. He's late and he is always calling me Mrs Castle, despite the fact that we're not married," Beckett said.

"Yet," Castle corrected, "You seem to always forget that I promised we would move in to the new house as a married couple," he pointed out.

"Engaged is not married," she said irritably.

"We're halfway there anyway," he said as he started playing a game with Julie.

"Sorry I'm late," everyone's attention was brought to the door as the Realtor entered the office, "Let's go see that house huh kids?" he said to the little children that were now chasing each other around the room.

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_**January 20**__**th **__**– **__1.25 am____Beckett's given birth…_

Kate stared at her two newborn children through the clear glass, Castle standing beside her silently. They were only two newborns in comparison to the so many others that lay in cots next to and around them.

"Are you sure you're okay with the names?" Beckett broke the silence and looked at Castle, her arms folded across her chest.

"I was worried that Johanna would hold too much sentimental value for you anyway. She would just remind you of her every day," he said, vaguely gesturing to the infant in front of them.

"I'm not going to forget my mom Castle," Beckett sniffed and looked at the babies again, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"I know," he whispered as he pulled her into a hug.

"Juliana and Andrew," Beckett said, still getting used to the fact that she was a mother.

"Julie and Andy?" Castle laughed.

"I'm tired," she laughed and tried desperately hard to not fall asleep.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed," he walked her back to her room.

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_**January 20**__**th**__** - **__10.00am_

Castle quietly tiptoed out of the hospital room, as not to wake Kate. He was halfway down the hall when he was greeted by Lanie, Ryan and Esposito.

"Hey guys," Castle said in as much of a cheerful voice as he could muster.

"Wow, you look great," Ryan said sympathetically.

"Tired?" Lanie asked. Castle yawned and knuckled his eyes in fatigue.

"I don't know where to find good coffee in the hospital," he said sadly.

"You want me to go for a coffee run for you Bro?" Espo offered.

"No, you guys and go and see Beckett. I'll go on my own," he pointed to where her room was. Lanie and Ryan started walking in the general direction of where he was pointing.

"Nah, I'll come with you man. We can get some breakfast. You'll need help," Javi insisted. Castle nodded and they started walking to the exit.

When Lanie opened Beckett's room door, Kate was getting out of bed and putting slippers on.

"Morning," Lanie said gently.

"I hate to cut this short and seem rude, but I have to go to the bathroom," she quickly made her way out the door. Lanie laughed and Ryan shrugged as the woman they hadn't seen for weeks disappeared down the hall.

XXX

_January 20th- __**7 Years later…**_

"Mom, he tells me every single day that he is older than me. Do you have to tell the story this way?" Juliana argued.

"I can tell the story fast or I can tell the story right," Kate said with a smile.

"Or how about you just don't tell the story at all," Andrew yelled, "It's my birthday too," he frowned and stared at the birthday cake.

"Shut up," Juliana spat back, "Mom, can't you do both-"

"At least I wasn't an accident!" he interrupted.

"We're twins you idiot," she reverted, her back now completely turned to face Kate.

"Hey you better stop that now. Do you even know what an accident is?" Beckett warned.

"Yeah everybody calm down," Castle interrupted as he walked through the door, "You were both accidents," he laughed.

"Daddy," Johanna jumped up and ran towards him.

"Hey, how is Alexis?" Kate asked when he finished hugging their daughter, "Oh and really? No one was an accident. Though you shouldn't know what an accident is. So, how's Martha?"

"Yeah Dad, how's Gram and Lex?" Andrew asked.

"Well, why don't you ask them yourself?" he said as he opened the door to reveal Alexis and Martha, both beaming with identical bright smiles.

"Aah," Juliana squealed before standing up and running to both of them, unable to choose which person to hug first. She hugged them both at the same time, and almost crushed their stomachs while she was at it. Andrew tried to interject and receive his own hug too.

"Hey I've missed you guys," Alexis said, once she had pulled away from them entirely, "What's everybody up to?" she asked casually. At seeing the disappointed looks on both children, she pulled out two presents, "I'm kidding. Happy Birthday!"

They grabbed the presents and thanked Alexis before running back towards Kate to open them.

"So what's going on right now?" Alexis asked with confusion, noticing the still uneaten cake.

"Well I was just telling the story of your father's idiocy," Beckett said, folding her arms and giving Castle a mild glare.

"Hey!" he said with warning.

"Which time?" Martha asked, completely ignoring the fact that Kate had called her son an idiot.

"Julie asked about how we first met. I thought the story about how we got together would be more appropriate than a story about murder," Beckett said, putting her hands in her pockets and watching the children open the presents.

"A tale of how you cheated on your boyfriend and then broke up with him for me is more appropriate than how you arrested me?" Castle asked with a raised brow.

"I didn't go into details obviously," Kate slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"Without details, the story isn't juicy," he said with a sly smile.

"Dad," Alexis gave him a look.

"Wow! Thanks Alexis!" Alexis walked to the kids when she heard her name and helped them with their gifts.

"Mom, can you finish the story please?" Julie beckoned her family over. Kate laughed and resumed her position before Castle had interrupted.

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**The End?**

**Hoorah for the final Chapter of a Duke in Distress. **Sorry if the Flash forwards were slightly confusing, I tried my best to make it clear for everyone. The ending is supposed to be kind of ambiguous in way, so you readers can decide what happens next, sort of. Hope it wasn't too bad. I already have plans for another storyline, so look out for that!

Thanks for reading! Xx


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